A circuit breaker would break the economy

More jobs will be lost in the long run. Businesses will go under. And government debt will soar even higher. Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds is pushing the argument that a circuit breaker — that is a short, sharp national lockdown — will be cheaper in the long run. It will keep the virus under control, and therefore enable the economy to bounce back quicker. Channelling her inner Gordon Brown, she has even come up with a very precise figure for that. Apparently, not having a circuit breaker will cost us £110 billion.

But hold on. Even leaving aside the point that precise estimates should always make us suspicious — is it really £110 billion, rather £107 billion, or £113 billion? — that is crazy. In truth, you can argue for or against a circuit breaker on health grounds but to argue for it on economic grounds simply makes the Labour party look ridiculous.