Coronavirus spending: How are we going to pay for it all?
Analysis: Government borrowing north of £200bn expected this year, the national debt heading to 100 per cent of GDP. Some say it will ultimately mean more austerity. Others warn of inflation. Or could it result in the breaching of some old central banking taboos? Economics editor Ben Chu investigates
We’re in the big-spending phase now, as ministers pull out the policy stops to protect jobs and livelihoods amid the economic cataclysm brought on by the Covid-19 lockdown.
Some analysts think the UK government’s deficit this year will exceed £200bn. That would translate into a tenth of our national income, or gross domestic product (GDP).
The state hasn’t borrowed so much since the peak of the global financial crisis in 2009.
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