Rishi Sunak has said the government will borrow a peacetime record of almost £400bn this year as it seeks to combat the worst recession in more than 300 years. He confirmed the figure in a statement to MPs setting out his spending review for 2020. Here is a summary of the key points.
And here is an analysis from our colleague Larry Elliott.
The government will need to find up to £27bn worth of spending cuts or tax rises by 2024 to put the public finances on a sustainable footing, the Treasury’s spending watchdog has warned. Boris Johnson was struggling to contain a Conservative revolt as a Foreign Office minister resigned after the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced he was breaking a manifesto promise by cutting the overseas aid budget by a third and ending the Tory commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on aid. The UK has recorded 696 further deaths - a new record for the second wave of the pandemic and the highest daily total since early May. (See 5.49pm.) Deaths are always a lagging indicators, and UK case numbers continue to fall, but the figure serves as a reminder of the seriousness of the second wave on the eve of the announcement from the government about which areas in England are going into which tiers when the lockdown ends next week. Some governnment figures have been claiming that the whole of the country could end up in tiers 3 or 2, the two tiers with the strictest rules. This evening the Office for National Statistics has announced that it will publish its weekly coronavirus infection survey, which is regarded as one of the best guides to the prevalance of coronavirus in the community, tomorrow at 10.30am, instead of Friday at 12pm at usual. The govenrment has promised to release data justifying its decisions about which areas are going into which tiers, and that may explain why the ONS publication has been moved forward. In its announcement about the revised release time the ONS said: Analysis relating to the pandemic is subject to changes at short notice. The ONS is working to ensure the UK has the vital information needed to respond to the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on our economy and society.
That’s all from us for tonight. But our coverage continues on our global coronavirus live blog. It’s here.