Budget expectations amidst Covid-19

AHEAD of tomorrow’s Budget, newspaper opinion pages questioned how the Government can deliver this amidst the threat from the coronavirus.

The Daily Express

Kate Andrews wrote the Budget must have an action plan so Britain flourishes.

She highlighted how just three weeks ago Rishi Sunak had no idea he would be delivering a Budget, never mind in the midst of an epidemic.

She said: “Sunak’s statement won’t be defined by the Government’s big ambitions, but rather by how to curtail the hit Britain’s businesses and employees may suffer from the coronavirus.

“While this is not how the Government would have liked to kick-start its new announcements for economic renewal, the Budget has arguably come at a good time to properly combat the negative consequences of the virus.”

She went on to say: “Pressure is piling on the Government as to how it might handle sick pay for employees not entitled to claim it, or businesses struggling to stay afloat. It’s unknown how many billions might be necessary to cover these knock-on effects. And the bad incentives in place for some people to keep working or travelling, even if sick, will have to be addressed.”

The Guardian

Its editorial refers to how Prime Minister Boris Johnson “breezes through” PMQS and added he “now tries to give the impression that restoring Britain’s public services also requires nothing more than a quick collective chant by him and his ministerial courtiers”.

It added: “Democratic politics deserves better than this. Fortunately, events are starting to force Mr Johnson’s hand. The onward spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus clearly demands a different level of national leadership from the facetious version that the Prime Minister has offered so far. The continuing impact of the winter floods, which found Mr Johnson wanting, presents a similarly long-term challenge for the Government across the stricken regions of Britain. Next month, he may also face a more effective opposition leader than Jeremy Corbyn can ever manage to be in his lame duck phase.

“This is a tough time for the

Government to splash the cash in a way that remotely resembles the sunny promises that helped win the election. This will struggle to be the glib Budget that Mr

Johnson imagined a mere few weeks ago. The impact of coronavirus on the economy is simply too large and too uncertain. The real world is kicking in, and real politics with it. About time too.”

The Scotsman

In its editorial the paper said Mr Sunak’s Budget package to tackle the economic toll of coronavirus must be imaginative and targeted and that all eyes will be on how the Chancellor responds. The paper said: “Against an everchanging health picture, Mr Sunak must put short-term measures to support the economy ahead of longer-term post-brexit plans. Put simply, the ‘levelling up’ agenda and any wider reshaping of the economy must be postponed for now.”

It went on to say “the price tag on this Budget could be significant, adding billions to public borrowing.

“But right now the UK cannot afford for otherwise healthy businesses to go to the wall because of the effects of the coronavirus”.

The Times

The paper’s editorial said the Government should use this week’s Budget to establish a review of its fiscal rules to focus on public-sector net worth rather than just debt. While delivering the Budget in a turbulent time, the paper said that is “no reason to banish all new thinking”.

It said: “If there is one place where fresh thinking would be welcome, it is in respect of the Government’s fiscal rules. These have become a source of tension within the Government.”

It added: “There are good reasons to question whether the current rules are appropriate.

“After all, interest rates have been at historic lows for a decade while inflation has flatlined.

“That suggests the markets want governments to borrow more.”

The paper added a shift to public-sector net-worth targeting would need to be introduced carefully in full consultation with investors and other stakeholders.

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are walking an economic tightrope in the face of the coronavirus outbreak