The economy was stagnant even before Plan B

The economy is tantalisingly close to returning to pre-pandemic levels, now just 0.5 per cent off recovery. But this last hurdle may be the most difficult to overcome. The economy was more or less at a standstill in October, with GDP climbing by a measly 0.1 per cent. Services output grew by 0.4 per cent, mostly thanks to an uptick in GPs heading back to their surgeries for face-to-face appointments.

While services recovered to pre-pandemic levels in October, the underlying figures don’t look so rosy: production output fell 0.6 per cent, while construction took its biggest hit since the first lockdown, falling by almost 2 per cent.

These are disappointing figures in their own right, made far worse by what we know is going to hit businesses in the weeks ahead. October’s figures don’t factor in the Omicron variant — which didn’t become a concern until last month and was only just used to usher in Plan B restrictions this week.