For you · Journalists
Press kit
Everything you need to use a figure from UK Explained: the data, the source, a citation, an embed and an image. If a figure is wrong, the corrections log says so.
Data to download
Plain CSV files, rebuilt every night.
| File | What it is | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Government spending | % of the economy, 1985-86 to 2025-26 | HM Treasury (PESA), HMRC and ONS public sector finances |
| Money collected | % of the economy, 1985-86 to 2025-26 | HM Treasury (PESA), HMRC and ONS public sector finances |
| Borrowing | % of the economy, 1985-86 to 2025-26 | HM Treasury (PESA), HMRC and ONS public sector finances |
| National debt, share of the economy | % of GDP, 1993-03 to 2026-08 | ONS, public sector finances |
| Price inflation (CPI), yearly rate | % a year, 1989-01 to 2026-08 | ONS, Consumer Price Index |
| Typical full-time pay | £ a week, 2002 to 2025 | ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (resident analysis), via Nomis |
| Claiming unemployment-related benefits | % of people aged 16-64, 1996-01 to 2026-08 | ONS and DWP, claimant count, via Nomis |
| Typical full-time pay in 2025 prices | £ a week, 2002 to 2025 | ONS (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and CPI), adjusted by UK Explained |
| Waiting for hospital treatment | millions of treatments, 2007-08 to 2026-07 | NHS England, Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times, England |
| Seen within 18 weeks | % of people waiting, 2007-08 to 2026-07 | NHS England, Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times, England |
| Median wait so far | weeks, 2007-08 to 2026-07 | NHS England, Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times, England |
| Constituencies: pay, jobs and election result | 649 areas, latest figures | ONS via Nomis; House of Commons Library |
| MPs: how often each voted with their party | Last 12 months of Commons votes | Commons Votes API; Members API |
Citing us
Every chart has a Cite button that copies a citation with the date you accessed it. A typical one:
UK Explained (2026). “Is it getting better or worse?”. ukexplained.uk/trends/. Accessed 5 October 2026.
Please name the original source too (shown with every figure).
Embeds and share images
Each chart on Over time has a Share button with an image, an embed code and a link. Embeds set no cookies and show no ads.
Before you publish
- Check how fresh a dataset is on the data status page.
- Read the caveat on the page: for example, money figures are in cash terms and the latest year can be revised.
- Contact details for corrections are on About & corrections.