UK lockdown reopen

rishi sunak

Budget 2021: Strip Away Pandemic Largesse And UK Is Banking On Recovery With No Extra Public Spending

Steve Schifferes via The Conversation | What a difference a year makes. In March 2020, the chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced an emergency budget pledging £12 billion to tackle coronavirus. One year later, the government has already spent £280 billion, and spending by spring 2022 will exceed £400 billion. The 2021 budget – perhaps the most widely leaked in history – contains a cornucopia of short-term measures, such as the extensions to the furlough scheme and to the VAT cuts for hospitality.