Covid economy

Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, has declared that the international recovery is threatened by China’s zero-covid policy, which he warns could cause chaos in supply chains and drive up inflation.

The Chinese regime still relies on shutdowns and other draconian measures in its futile quest to eliminate Covid-19. Having declared a premature victory over the pandemic last year, it is proving difficult for Beijing now to admit that the virus is likely to become endemic and that the world will have to learn to live with it. The result is depressed economic growth, which is bound to have an effect on the rest of the world because of the sheer size of the Chinese economy.

Mr Carney’s warning is timely for another reason. The latest GDP figures in the UK were disappointing, and part of the explanation must surely be the continued threat of the reimposition of anti-covid restrictions and the shadow this casts over business decision-making.

Boris Johnson has so far refused to activate “Plan B” – the return of mandatory face masks and working-from-home guidance. Yet the pressure from health leaders and the doctors’ bodies to act is growing, in spite of the fact that neither cases nor hospitalisations have reached anything like the numbers some had feared.

Given the state of the global economy, it is difficult for companies and consumers to look forward positively to the months ahead. As well as devising a proper strategy for encouraging economic growth, instead of the current obsession with higher taxes and spending, the very least the Government can do is guarantee that our freedoms will be protected here in the UK.