Budget 2020: Sunak commits £30bn fiscal stimulus in face of coronavirus

First budget of this parliament

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has committed a £30bn fiscal stimulus to tackle the economic impact of coronavirus, promising "to keep this country and our people financially secure".

In the first Budget of this parliament published today (11 March) Sunak described the ongoing health crisis as "the key challenge facing this country today", warning that the combination of a possible 20% reduction in people in work and the impact on business supply chains "will mean that for a period our productive capacity will shrink". "[Coronavirus] will have a significant impact on the UK economy but it will be temporary. Life will return to normal." It follows the Bank of England's sudden decision to cut interest rates to 0.25% this morning in efforts to soften the economic fall...