To think that the economy won't just bounce back in three months?

[CloudsCanLookLikeSheep]

I am really worried about the long term effects of all this on the economy. BJ has sugarcoated it saying things will just bounce back when this is over and people start getting back to normal life. I think that's overly optimistic in the extreme. The normal flow of money has been seriously disrupted. Even those furloughed will be on 80% of pay not 100% and most people will be wary of spending on anything more than essentials during these uncertain times.

There may not be 'systemic' issues in the economy at the start but there sure will be in a few months time .Many people will default on debts and bills. Many companies will go out of business and it's all a big chain reaction.

We've never dealt with anything like this before in modern times, even during the spanish flu pandemic businesses weren't disrupted like this as there wasn't a welfare state so people had to keep earning.

I think the economic impact will take years to recover from and there will be no bounce back recovery, AIBU?

I’m much more concerned about the economic effects than the virus itself, and the mental health effects of such a crash

Me too. It could be much worse than anything in living memory. Mass unemployment, economic depression, rising crime, the works.

I think we are headed for a global recession that will last for years

The tories and republicans in the USA will be spraying borrowed money around to prop up the economy

A lot of people will stop buying all the luxury items and tat ( £5k push bikes and matching lycra ) and will be doing a bit more at home

It will be a struggle for the entitled in our country who never get told no

However some good will come , more people will value the NHS and get used to cooking at home for the family , grow your own will rise , realise they dont need to drive everywhere for a meeting that they could do on skype etc

tough times ahead indeed and dont think this country will ever be the same place

The economy will take years to recover, how could it not.

I’m hoping there are some positives though. Less pollution now we’ve seen a dip in that, less cheap travel, less food waste etc. Maybe more exercise given the health effects of being overweight have been more highlighted recently,

Also people realising the commitment children are and that savings etc are hugely important.

80% of the workforce are out, in one go.

I doubt it. Many people are working from home and those that aren't able to do that are allowed to still go into work. Obviously, certain sectors are completely out of work but not all sectors.

Argument in The Guardian this week by a former civil servant that it doesn't need to be a trade-off between the economy and health, but the economic consequences will depend on what action the government takes both now and after the pandemic. Just some thoughts. Of course we won't know how things will play out for years to come.

YANBU. It would also be insane to go ahead with Brexit now but no doubt it will still happen and the UK is doubly screwed.

Of course it’s bollocks. BJ couldn’t tell the truth if you paid him.

Stock market down another 6% this morning , all of this will have a massive effect on the economy

After the initial drops, the stock market has been up and down a lot over the last couple of weeks, it's currently higher than it has been recently, even after today's drop.

I suspect it is all the day traders distorting things at the moment and can't really be seen as a reliable indicator. But you don't need the FTSE number to know that this is likely to cause severe long term financial damage.

Of course it won't, no one is saying it will. BJ isn't saying that either.

I don’t think anyone is suggesting we will be back to normal in 3 months.

Boris did at one point mention ‘turning the tide’ but that only means we will have reached the peak by then and be starting down the other side, not that this will be over.

As usual people are pouncing on words. Johnson ( not BJ BoJo or Bozo) is not a fool and is managing a crisis. Now is not the time to talk about the inevitable economic crisis we are heading for. The focus has to be the health of the people. Talking about economics now will weaken peoples resolve to stick to the very important directives to slow the virus down

Things will go on as they always have - the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer and the middle classes will be squeezed even more to pay for it all!

For those that have dragged up Brexit, listen to the Italian comentators after the EU video meeting. The EU is not going to help and this may well bring the whole house of cards tumbling down. Watch what happens next year. Germany is nt going down very well in the popularity stakes.

@BuffaloCauliflower
You are more concerned about the economic effects than the virus?
Finances can eventually recover, lost lives cannot. Your comment ( and you are not the only one to think this, chills my blood

I think there will be a major depression (not just a recession) on a scale that we haven't seen in (the vast majority) of living memory.

Something akin to The Great Depression in 1930's America.

Mass unemployment - but there will be a point at which the Govt can't continue to subsidise. Horrible amounts of homelessness and begging. Huge rise in crime.

TBH I am the opposite of a Boris fan but I agree that he can't be honest about this.

And while he was too optimistic for a few weeks I'm bloody glad he didn't turn out to actually be a UK Trump and is at least saying sensible things now.

...and I agree that the economic cost of letting it rip through 80% in one go would be just as bad TBH.

Finances can eventually recover, lost lives cannot

But serious economic problems cause a big rise in suicides in people who see no way out of the hopelessness. The deaths from suicide due to an economic depression could exceed those directly caused by covid19.

Keeping everyone in their homes to stop the transmission of the virus and not spending in shops, restaurant and leisure facilities that the economy is heavily dependent on, and many were already in poor financial state has knock on effects that must be recognised.

A recession will hit the NHS and lives will be lost.

It's not as simple as lives versus money now.

Free webinar on Wednesday about this by the Financial Times if anyone is interested

I don't work for them or anything but will be attending myself...

live.ft.com/Events/The-Global-Economic-Emergency

Even Boris Johnson and the nasty party Tories think that saving lives is more important than the economy.

I understand the worry about what’s to come, but there was no choice.

No leader in the world would say “I don’t care how many millions die now, we’re going to save the economy instead”.

People are already taking a financial hit, the economic impact of COVID19 cant just be swept under the carpet to spare feelings. A country famed for its "blitz spirit" is going to have to face up to the difficulties ahead.

@NoMorePoliticsPlease I’m sorry you feel that way, but a major depression will lead to many lives lost as well, due to poverty, a big rise in unstable living conditions and mental health conditions as a result. People starving (there’s already over a million children not eating properly in this country due to poverty) the effects are far more wide and far reaching.

A German Finance minister just committed suicide. Germany and the UK were the main contributors to the EU pot, so his despair says something, very, very significant.

Anyone who thinks that the EU would have been remotely capable of swooping in and "saving" the UK is delusional. Look at them. Look at the sheer state of them. They're more fucked than we are.

No leader in the world would say “I don’t care how many millions die now, we’re going to save the economy instead”.

Erm, Trump?