Paying for the pandemic

Is rapidly paying back pandemic borrowings an economic priority or a political red herring? This was an underlying question when Bridget Phillipson MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and leading economists Andrew Smith and Josh Ryan-Collins discussed ‘Paying for the the Pandemic’ at a recent Industry Forum virtual round table. Government decisions on borrowings, taxes and investment will determine the speed of recovery of damaged sectors and restructuring towards the industries and skills of the future, the success of regional economic rebalancing, our ability to tackle urgent social problems, and the speed of decarbonisation. Overall, this could mean the difference between a powerful economic bounce-back or another decade of austerity. New US president, Joe Biden, has clearly opted to borrow more to fund a robust recovery but it is not clear whether the UK will follow suit.

Speakers:

Bridget Phillipson MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Andrew Smith, Chief Economist, Industry Forum

Josh Ryan-Collins, Head of Finance and Macroeconomics, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London (UCL)

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