Will the UK be downgraded – and does it matter?

Rating agency Moody’s has warned that it may downgrade the UK's AAA credit rating. Matthew Partridge looks at what this would mean.

When Standard and Poor's slashed the credit rating of France and several other European countries, there was an outcry both at the decision, and the fact that the UK was not affected. One German politician even argued that, "If the agency downgrades France, it should also downgrade Britain in order to be consistent".

It now looks like this wish may come true. Rating agency Moody's has decided to place the UK, along with eight other countries, on "negative watch". This means there is a chance that it might decide to downgrade these countries in the near future although the UK still keeps its AAA rating for now.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri