Record Recession figures are finally in -20.4%

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
The UK has been tipped into the "largest recession on record", according to official figures charting the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the economy.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the enforced hibernation of activity through the COVID-19 lockdown meant gross domestic product (GDP) slumped by 20.4% in the second quarter of the year following a dip of 2.2% in the first three months of 2020.

Im amazed it not worse to be honest.
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
20-30% is awful, but not insurmountable. Are we in line with other first world countries? If so, then it's all in the same boat.

If we come out of this without destitution in the population, and having chipped in to support economies that are affected worse than ours, we will have done well.
 

GeorgeC1

Member
20-30% is awful, but not insurmountable. Are we in line with other first world countries? If so, then it's all in the same boat.

If we come out of this without destitution in the population, and having chipped in to support economies that are affected worse than ours, we will have done well.

They need to extend furlough till feb to save industries rather then remove it in october just before winter.
 

GeorgeC1

Member
Extended furlough will increase redundancies and bankruptcy. Companies need workers to create turnover to pay bills. All furlough does is reduce turnover while prelonging the inevitable for employees.

I'm on flexi-furlough, I'm contracted a set amount of hours a week, if there's not enough hours for me in the week furlough makes up the rest.
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
They need to extend furlough till feb to save industries rather then remove it in october just before winter.

It can't be extended across the board, though. There will need to be a more precise system to target individual segments within sectors.

At the moment, there are businesses and charities that are not allowed to be open, so they should have priority.
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
It's a surprise to hear of long-established businesses that don't have fighting funds to keep themselves ticking over through a seriously grotty year. Optimism is a good trait to nurture, but not at the expense of realism.
 

JD 6610

Member
Location
North Herts
Sadly the Chancellor should stop spending money to try to stop businesses going bust. Every year hundreds of thousands of businesses fail. Let them go. They fail for various reasons but the UK is what it is because we have some great entrepreneurs. They take a chance. Some make it - some don’t. If there was no place for them in the market then they needed to go. If their failure creates a void a new entrepreneur will step in and fill the void. Let the market dictate. We are currently creating an environment of letting people think that the government will backstop their lack of financial prudence and skill. Our kids may never forgive us for the way we are spending money in the way the government is doing.
 

GeorgeC1

Member
Sadly the Chancellor should stop spending money to try to stop businesses going bust. Every year hundreds of thousands of businesses fail. Let them go. They fail for various reasons but the UK is what it is because we have some great entrepreneurs. They take a chance. Some make it - some don’t. If there was no place for them in the market then they needed to go. If their failure creates a void a new entrepreneur will step in and fill the void. Let the market dictate. We are currently creating an environment of letting people think that the government will backstop their lack of financial prudence and skill. Our kids may never forgive us for the way we are spending money in the way the government is doing.

The only way feasibly out of this is to insitute massive Public Spending.
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
The only way feasibly out of this is to insitute massive Public Spending.

That idea to issue everyone with £100 - £500 to spend (presumably on something legal, decent, and covid safe) is actually a better one than the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, if it's for local or regional spending.

Traditional infrastructure projects with their big, heavy, environmental footprints, won't be as beneficial for all as help to retrain for those who are losing their jobs for no fault of their own will be. Making sure everyone has reliable, fast internet guaranteed is a good investment in infrastructure. Making sure our health and education services are top quality is a good investment. There could be carefully targeted assistance for our food chains, too ... can't think why :)
 
I've said it before, get on with building the Severn barrage, make the A303 the M303, Get Sizewell and Bradwell C going, get Hinkley D going. No more nonsense. House building projects across the country, not just shoving houses in villages in the South.

Upgrade all the railways to electric, extend them and put fibre to the premises in every home.

And lastly a stinker of a tax on the rich and corporations. Any trading activity conducted in the UK to be taxed. No more nonsense.
 

GeorgeC1

Member
I've said it before, get on with building the Severn barrage, make the A303 the M303, Get Sizewell and Bradwell C going, get Hinkley D going. No more nonsense. House building projects across the country, not just shoving houses in villages in the South.

Upgrade all the railways to electric, extend them and put fibre to the premises in every home.

And lastly a stinker of a tax on the rich and corporations. Any trading activity conducted in the UK to be taxed. No more nonsense.


also get big property developers to actually build houses, they own huge amounts of land and control the supply of houses to keep the value high,
 

le bon paysan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Limousin, France
20-30% is awful, but not insurmountable. Are we in line with other first world countries? If so, then it's all in the same boat.

If we come out of this without destitution in the population, and having chipped in to support economies that are affected worse than ours, we will have done well.
France's economy contracted by a record 13.8% in the second quarter of 2020 under the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, according to the national statistics institute INSEE.


The seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter drop in gross domestic product (GDP) was better than forecast but worse than the performance of most other eurozone countries.


 

Swarfmonkey

Member
Location
Hampshire
@GeorgeC1

If you think it’s just the builders that want to keep housing costs high you’ll be in for a surprise when you realise that high prices benefit local authorities as well.

The higher the market price the more they can justify a high Community Infrastructure Levy, and the payments it generates go straight into council coffers.

One of my colleagues moved into a new three bed place in Berkshire not long ago. The council was making close to £35,000 off each of the 3 bed semis by way of CIL on that new estate.

Nice little earner for the local authority. One they’ll not be keen on losing.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,289
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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