In 2020, the UK was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The unprecedented pressure on healthcare forced the government to impose very strict lockdowns, which cost a lot of money.
Unprecedentedly bad
All the growth in the years since 2013 has been wiped out in one fell swoop by a historic contraction. The second quarter in particular was dramatic. The UK economy then shrank by as much as 19 per cent compared with the previous quarter. The British fared worse than Spain (-17.9 per cent) and Italy (-13 per cent).
The British economy had not contracted so much since 1709. And that was also a year to quickly forget. While soldiers scattered across Europe were killing each other en masse to prevent France from becoming too great, the winter was extremely cold. The Great Frost, as the British called it, caused crops to fail and livestock to die. This led to a major economic downturn.
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Despite the bad numbers for 2020, they still offer some hope. Growth was recorded in the last two quarters. In the third quarter, the economy grew by 16 percent. That was when many measures were eased. But a small amount of growth was also recorded in the fourth quarter: 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the British are making significant progress in vaccinating the population, providing additional optimism that life can resume to some degree of normality in the foreseeable future. The country’s central bank has previously predicted that the economy could quickly recover to its previous level, If vaccination works.
£250bn ready to be spent
The Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, added to that today in the Daily Mail. According to him, British households in June 2021, voluntarily or involuntarily Saving £250 billion (€285 billion).Much of this is expected to be spent quickly when it is possible again.
Therefore, Haldane takes into account economic growth exceeding 10% after one year.
