Boris Johnson used his daily coronavirus press conference to respond to the economic emergency the country is increasingly finding itself in. Accompanied by his Chancellor Rishi Sunak and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, the Prime Minister said that he was aware the virus would severely impact the economy and that the government was focussed on mitigating this. In light of this, Johnson said: ‘We must act as a wartime government and do anything it takes it takes to support our economy’.
In a bid to do just this, Sunak unveiled an economic package of business loans worth over £330 billion. Following on from the Budget, the Chancellor described today’s announcement as ‘the next stage of our public health response’ and suggested there could be more to come. He also promised to do ‘whatever it takes’ and said that the level of the crisis meant this was ‘not a time for ideology and orthodoxy’.
The measures today include a new lending facility, agreed with the Governor of the Bank of England. The measures also include an extension of the new business interruption loan scheme to provide borrowing of up to £5 million, rather than the initial promise of £1.2 million, as well as a three-month mortgage holiday. However, there were some things that were missing – it’s still unclear what help is being granted to renters and the self-employed. If the government wishes for these individuals to choose to remain at home if ill they may need to provide more assurances.
On top of the financial measures, the Prime Minister said the decision over school closures was constantly under review. The uncertainty facing the country was made clear when Vallance was asked whether an Imperial College report suggesting suppression of the virus – and social distancing measures – might have to be in place for 18 months until a vaccine emerges. Vallance did not deny that it could be this long, saying instead that he did not believe a vaccine would be ready within a year.
Comments