MP, Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor, responding to NIESR’s
pre-Budget report on the economic impact of Coronavirus and the
Chancellor’s likely inability to deliver on investment plans,
said:
“This analysis confirms yet again that Coronavirus could have
significant economic impacts, making it all the more
disappointing that the Chancellor has been silent on any economic
plan to respond to the outbreak.
“As well as predicting poor growth under the Tories, the
report casts serious doubt on whether the Government will be able
to deliver on its investment promises.
“The report recommends that the Government adopts Labour’s public
sector balance sheet fiscal rule, suggesting that the only major
announcements in this Budget are likely to be ideas copied from
Labour as the Government flounders at a time of crisis.”
Ends
Notes to Editors:
· The
NIESR pre-Budget report is online here: https://www.niesr.ac.uk/sites/default/files/publications/NIESR%20Pre-Budget%202020%20Analysis.pdf
· The
report suggests Coronavirus could have a downside risk of up to
0.5% on UK growth (p. 2).
· The
report notes that growth was weak prior to the Coronavirus
outbreak (p. 3), with growth likely to remain sluggish at around
1.5% in 2020 and 2021.
· The
report comments that given various delivery challenges, “the
Chancellor may find it difficult to implement ambitious public
investment plans” (p. 16).
· The
report recommends a focus on the public sector balance sheet,
which “would allow more public sector investment to take place”
(p. 9); Labour’s proposed fiscal rule was “To improve the
strength of the Government’s balance sheet (Public Sector Net
Worth) across the course of a Parliament” – see https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Funding-Real-Change.pdf at
p. 7.
