Prospects for the UK Economy and Public Spending After COVID-19: new austerity or a new economy?

Contributor(s): Stephanie Flanders, Professor Stephen Machin, Dr Gemma Tetlow | The UK government’s response to COVID-19 has seen sudden growth in public spending accompanied by a sharp fall in tax receipts. Public sector borrowing may exceed £300bn in 2020-21, with the UK’s national debt exceeding annual GDP for the first time for decades.
What short-term stimuli might the Chancellor now employ to re-start growth? Can the government imaginably return to austerity policies? Will inequality have increased? Is this the time for a new approach to economic management? Can the economy go back to normal and grow if social distancing restrictions persist? Is the UK out of line with comparable countries?  And what about Brexit? The panel will consider these issues and more.
Stephanie Flanders (@MyStephanomics) has been Senior Executive Editor for Economics at Bloomberg News and head of Bloomberg Economics since October 2017. She was previously Chief Market Strategist for Europe at J P Morgan A