4 NEWS Politics
THEWEEK 21 March 2020Controversy of the week
An economy in shock
It’s not just our healththat’sinperil,said Martin Wolfinthe
FT. This pandemic couldalsoturnout to beabigger threatto
oureconomic well-beingthan thefinancialcrisisof2007-09.
Anationcan onlystay inlockdown forso longbefore it
suffers criticaldamage to itseconomy,especially whenalarge
proportionofits citizensandcompanies–asinthiscountry –
arealready deep indebt.The Government’scallfor usto avoid
pubs, restaurants,cinemas andtheatres canonlyexacerbate
theproblem, saidBen Marlowin TheDaily Telegraph. High
streetsare alreadysproutingsigns saying“closedforthe
foreseeablefuture”;rail companies have seen adropof up to
50%in passenger numbers; Virgin Atlantichas asked 8,
stafftotaketwo months unpaid leave;Heathrow, Gatwick
andManchesterairports saytheycouldcloseinweeks without
government support.Nowonderthe markets are rattled.There’salimitto whatthe authoritiescan do to allay people’s
fears,saidThe Times. The Bank of Englandpromptly cut interest rateslast week,but the FTSE 250
nevertheless tumbled9.4% inasingleday.The Chancellor,RishiSunak, is finding it hard to keep up,
said Katy Balls in theInewspaper.Aweek ago, he turnedhis Budget into an emergency packageto
deal with thevirus; then thisweek,heannounced measures to copewithitthatwere27timesmore
extravagantthanthose inthe Budget.Goneisthe traditional Tory attachment to fiscaldiscipline. As
oneTory MP put it: “I’m readyfor RishitobecomeJeremyCorbynfor three months.” TheTories
must also ditch theirphilosophicalaversiontobailouts,said Ruth Sunderland in the Daily Mail. Even
if the economy does come “roaring back”, as Boris Johnsonpredicts, itwill betoolateformany
smallbusinessesinthe hospitality, retail andleisuresectors (and thesix millionpeople they employ),
whoforeseebankruptcy within“weeks, not months”.
The Chancellor’s£330bn packageoflow-cost loansto blightedbusinessesand cash grants of up to
£25,000for smallerfirms in theworsthit sectors isastep in the right direction, saidThe Guardian.
Butthere’san“urgentneed”formoreradical measures, such as underwritingpayrollcosts,toensure
that firmscanpay wages and avoid lay-offs.Gigeconomy workers needsupport.Sunakhas
promisedassistance forpeoplepayingmortgages;rentersneedhelp, too.The goodnews, though,
saidTheEconomist,isthatthis economic shockdoesn’tyet compare with thefinancialcrisisof
2007-09, whenstockmarkets fell up to 60%.Unlike then, the banking system todayis“stuffedwith
capital”andshows no sign of seizingup. It’s alsoworthbearing in mind,said Tim Wallacein The
DailyTelegraph,thatthoughtheGreatPlagueandFireofLondon (1665-66)temporarily brought
tradetoahalt,the capitalenjoyedahugeboomingrowth soon after. It’sgood toknow that “the
economicpain of pandemicscan befollowed by thequickrecoveryweare allhoping for”.Sunak: finding it hard to keep upSpirit of the age
Good weekfor:
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,whowastemporarily releasedfrom
jailinIran,along with85,000 other prisoners, as partofTehran’s
efforts toslow the spread ofthe coronavirus. Forcedtowear a
tag,shemust stay within300 metres of her parents’ house,and
has beeninstructed to return to Evin prisonon4April.
Thehairy shorebug,whichnowhas abetter chance of
survival,thankstothe creation ofa“super”naturereservein
Dorset.PurbeckHeaths covers morethan8,000acresofland
previouslymanagedby sevenseparateagencies. Exceptionally
biodiverse,it is hometo4 50 rare species, including Dartford
warblers, sandlizardsand thecritically endangeredbug, which
is so rare, it hasonlybeen recorded three times in Britain.
Zoom,the video conferencingapp,which hasboomedinthe
viruscrisis. Itsstockmarketvaluation is up50%thisyear.Bad week for:
Glastonbury,which bowedtothe inevitable andcancelledthe
festival. More than 200,000 people hadbeenexpectedtodescend
on Worthy Farm in June,andPaulMcCartney andTaylorSwift
had been duetoperform. The organisers havesaidticketholders
canhavearefund, or rolltheir depositsovertonextyear.
Soap fans,as theBBCannounced thatit wassuspending
production ofseveralofits dramas,includingEastEnders,
CasualtyandHolby City.Itmeansmoreheadaches forTV
schedulers, whoare also facing yawning gapscreatedbythe
cancellation of majorsporting events.OnThursday, BBC
QuestionTimewasgoing aheadwithoutalivestudioaudience.Every Friday and Saturday
night,achurch in Soho has
been opening itself up as a
“safe space” where drunken
revellers can sleep it off
before making their way
home. “I don’t sit here in
judgment on people who’ve
decided to get bladdered on
aFrida ynight, ”said the Rev
Simon Buckley, adding that
aclea n-u poperation takes
place before the Sunday
morning service.Some of us have been
buying hand sanitisers and
baked beans to survive the
coronavirus; rich Americans
have been investing in
bunkers. Atlas Survival
Shelters in the US, whose
metal units cost from
$25,000 forabasic model,
sold their entire stock last
week. At the top end of the
market, bunkers come with
three years’ supply of food,
and cost $3m.FailuresoftheMet
The Metropolitan Police has
failed to adequately respond
to criticism of its conduct
during Operation Midland,
the police watchdog has
found. The investigation,
sparked by false claims
aboutaVIP Westminster
paedophile ring, cost £2.5m,
but led to no arrests. A
review concluded in 2016
that there had been 43 police
failings. Last week, the
Inspectorate of Constabulary
said the Met had waited
three years before acting on
that report’s advice, and that
it had been more concerned
with “restricting access” to
the review than with
“learning lessons from it”.Bomber’sbrotherguilty
The younger brother of the
Manchester Arena bomber
has been found guilty of 22
charges of murder, and now
faces life in jail. Twenty-two
children and adults were
killed, and many more were
injured, when Salman Abedi,
aradical Islamist, detonated
his suicide vest in May 2017,
at the end of an Ariana
Grande concert. Hashem
Abedi helped his brother
build the bomb, and is
believed to be the last
person he spoke to on the
night of the attack. Both
brothers had flown to Libya
amonth before the attack.
Salman Abedi flew back to
carry it out; Hashem Abedi
was later extradited.Pollwatch
52%of Britons aged 25 to
34 say that there’s now so
much TV to watch, on so
many different channels
and streaming services, it’s
becoming irritating.One-
thirdof households now
find it difficult to keep track
of what they want to watch.
64%of 55- to 65-year-olds
say that the traditional TV
channels still offer the best
quality content, but that
figure falls to40%among
18- to 34-year-olds.
EY/The Times59%of Britons say they trust
the chief medical adviser to
the UK government to give
good advice about the
coronavirus;55%trust the
director general of the WHO.
However, only36%have
confidence in the Prime
Minister on the subject, and
37%in the Health Secretary,
Matt Hancock.
Opinium/The Observer