‘Biggest UK boom since 1948 on way’
BRITAIN is on course to enjoy its biggest economic boom since the aftermath of the Second World War, a top banking boss has predicted.
Jes Staley, chief executive of Barclays, yesterday forecast the most “spectacular” recovery seen in the UK since 1948.
The bounce-back could see a £136 billion boost to the economy and generate a £27 billion tax windfall for the Treasury, according to the New Economics Foundation (NEF).
Mr Staley said:“There’s tremendous pent-up demand.
“Our economic forecast is for the UK economy to grow by 6.5 per cent this year, which would be the strongest growth rate in the British economy since 1948. That’s pretty spectacular.”
He added that the boom would be driven by a combination of the vaccine roll-out and an estimated £200 billion of savings made by households.
Alfie Stirling, director of research and chief economist for the NEF think tank, said: “The relationship between general economic recovering and a stronger tax base is precisely why it makes sense for government to borrow now at record low interest rates in order to protect jobs and livelihoods for the future.”
This outlook contrasts with the eurozone, which fell into a double-dip recession in the first three months of the year, figures confirmed yesterday.
The UK’s bounceback has been boosted by the recent reopening of non-essential shops and hospitality venues in England and Wales, with unemployment falling for two months in a row.
Figures revealed a sharp decrease in the number of UK firms going bust in the first three months of this year, despite the economic hit from Covid-19.
The Centre for Economic and Business Research yesterday upgraded its forecast for the UK economy, predicting growth of 7.1 per cent this year and 6.3 per cent in 2022.
Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs recently predicted the UK economy would grow faster than that of the United States this year thanks to the vaccine programme.
And the International Monetary Fund forecast the UK would go from one of the hardest-hit western economies in 2021 to the fastest growing G7 country in 2022.
Any recovery would come after the UK suffered the worst economy downturn in 300 years due to the coronavirus crisis.
While not as severe as first feared, hundreds of thousands of workers have lost their jobs, and others seen their pay cut.
Meanwhile, government borrowing has ballooned to £303billion in the last financial year – a peacetime record.
Mr Staley’s assessment came as Barclays revealed its profits for the first three months of this year more than doubled its 2020 record, coming in at £2.4 billion.