We find ourselves as a nation facing exceptional circumstances
– not to mention exceptional public finances. Just a few
recent statistics suffice: a conservative estimate of the overall
public finance cost of Covid-19 in the UK is £300bn,
according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Latest reports show that the UK borrowed £128bn in the
quarter to June. The deficit of tax receipts over public spending
between April and June was £174bn, compared to £20.3bn
for the same period in 2019/20 and far greater than the previous
quarterly record of £76.8bn in the fourth quarter of 2009, at
the height of the last crisis. Unsurprisingly, Chancellor Rishi
Sunak stated on 21 July: ‘I am also clear that, over the
medium term, we must, and we will, put our public finances back on
a sustainable footing'.
