Today Boris Johnson has announced a ‘New Deal’ for the UK, as his government looks to kick-start an economic recovery and get the nation back on its feet after the tragedy and destruction wrought by COVID-19.
The Prime Minister is right to opt for a big policy announcement. The UK is hungry for change: a recent poll from YouGov found that only 6% of the population want to return to the pre-lockdown economy. That’s an appetite for change that can only be satisfied by big, bold and high-impact policies – all of which were in the original New Deal that helped bring an end to the Great Depression in 1930s America.
The government’s plan, however, pales in comparison. The ‘New Deal’ is set to see £5 billion injected into infrastructure projects up and down the country to create jobs and get the economy moving. Mr Johnson wants to “build, build, build” to fuel his economic recovery, which – according to the man himself – sounds “positively Rooseveltian”.
