Business debt was flat, but local and state government debt grew 4.3% and federal government debt ballooned another 18.5%.

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The Tories have warned that spiralling state debt could force the government to follow in the footsteps of Labour former chancellor Denis Healey, who approached the IMF for a bailout as the economy struggled in the 1970s.

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Gross total debt is the sum of consumer, corporate, state and municipal debt plus U.S. government debt including that portion held by Federal agencies and trusts.

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