Chancellor Rishi Sunak has brushed aside warnings of an economic collapse and insists that all forecasts point to the UK being economically at the top.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday, Sunak dismissed his claims that the UK is likely to suffer the worst damage from the virus.
The Chancellor told Marr to read the full economic report and insists that the UK will have the best comeback compared to other countries.
Sunak said that “over the next two years, we will emerge at the top of the list,” compared to other economies.
Last week it was reported that the UK’s economy shrunk by 20.4% in April sparking fears of a recession.
At its peak in April the lockdown reduced economic output by 25%, making the coronavirus crisis by far the deepest recession on record.
The peak-to-trough fall in GDP was 7% in both the Global Financial Crisis and the Great Depression. Having plumbed those unprecedented depths, the economy is now on the return leg.
Marr said, “Besides from having the worst per capita death rate of almost any country in the world, the OECD thinks we will have the worst economic outcome as this unwinds.”
Sunak replied, “That is not how I would characterise the OECD report.
“They did say the impact of our economy this year would be particularly significant when compared to our large economy peers.
“The reason for that is because we are, unlike most other economise, a predominately services economy.
“That means, of course, we will be more impacted by shutting down that activity, including retail, consumption, hospitality.
“But the report also talked about the recovery and we are forecast to have the strongest recovery out of all those large economies.
“If you look at the next two years from the outbreak we will emerge at the top of the list.
“Also, if you look at employment, the record is much more positive there as well.”
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