UK Boost Funds To Fight Coronavirus In Johnson’s First Budget

UK new finance minister Rishi Sunak will commit billions of pounds to fight the effects of coronavirus the country’s economy on Wednesday, and the Bank of England might add its firepower to the attempt to stave off the risk of a new recession.

Sunak who has been in the job for less than a month, will deliver the first budget of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government against a backdrop of slumping stock markets and a rush by global policymakers to pump more stimulus into their economies.

The tax-and-spending plan – which Sunak will announce in parliament at about 12:30 GMT – has been billed as a chance for Johnson to direct investment towards poorer regions, where voters helped him to a big election victory in December.

But with Johnson’s government now focusing on how to cope with an expected jump in coronavirus cases, Sunak has new spending priorities that could force him to relax the government’s self-imposed borrowing rules.

“I can say absolutely, categorically the NHS will get whatever resources it needs to get us through this and to respond to the health crisis,” Sunak told BBC television on Sunday, referring to the UK’s National Health Service.

The 39-year-old former Goldman Sachs analyst has also said he will help companies cope with a cash-flow crunch if their workers and customers stay at home in large numbers.