Last week's Spending Review by Chancellor Rishi Sunak was a hugely significant event. The Conservative government’s immediate economic priority is to protect people’s lives and livelihoods as they respond to the coronavirus. With Crawley being one of the UK’s most impacted areas from the economic damage, this priority is so important to us here.
Three priorities were set out for the Spending Review which were: Priority 1 - Protecting people’s lives and livelihoods as we respond to coronavirus; Priority 2 - Delivering stronger public services - more hospitals, better schools and safer streets; and Priority 3 - Delivering record investment plans in infrastructure to drive growth, create jobs and level up.
The government will spend over £280 billion on its response. This is through the furlough scheme, support for the self-employed, loans, grants, tax cuts and tax deferrals, as well as extra funding for schools, local authorities, the NHS, charities, culture and sport, they are ensuring that we prioritise jobs, businesses and public services. The IMF, OBR and Bank of England have all praised the UK response. In its recent assessment of the UK’s economic response to coronavirus, the IMF praised us as ‘one of the best examples of coordinated action globally which has helped mitigate the damage, holding down unemployment and insolvencies’.
The OBR have forecast that the economy will contract this year by 11.3% which is the largest fall in output for more than 300 years. Therefore, this unprecedented and huge amount of government support is very welcome for Crawley to get us through the worst of the pandemic, keeping as many jobs and businesses as possible. Historically, Crawley has always bounced back quickly from recession and I am confident that we will once again. The roll out of vaccines next year will be a game-changer and with the vast majority of the country not having had a foreign holiday in 2020, there will be a lot of pent-up demand that will help Gatwick to bounce back in 2021 and beyond. Underpinning the strength of our local economy, a successful Gatwick leads to a successful Crawley.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
3rd December 2020
