Clock shows the true scale of the country's debt (From Oxford Mail)

Clock shows the true scale of the country's debt

3:12pm Wednesday 14th April 2010

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RESIDENTS in Oxford got a stark reminder of Britain’s national debt – in the form of a 23ft digital debt clock.

The lorry-mounted display, on a national tour organised by low tax campaign group The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), stopped in Gloucester Green on Tuesday so shoppers could take a look at the figures for themselves. The counter — which started at £781,512,328,767 on May 12 last year — rises by £5,168 per second. By the time the tour ends on April 26 the debt will have risen by £6,698,630,137, according to the TPA’s figures.

TPA chief executive Matthew Elliot said the tour aimed to increase awareness of the national debt.

He added: “The public were really interested. There is a lot of shock that this is the number and at how quickly it is going up, particularly when they find out it’s going up by £5,000 a second.”

The clock lorry travelled to Witney before leaving the county to continue its national tour.

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