In light of the coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak, there has been massive government intervention undertaken to tackle the public health emergency and prevent the economy from collapsing.
The measures which have been announced are highly damaging to the public finances and involve troubling interventions in the economy and the daily lives of everyone. But they are understandable and justifiable. Covid-19 is an impending national catastrophe, in human and economic terms; the specifics may be debated, but in general the government is right to take action that in ordinary circumstances would be unacceptable. Emergencies such as this are exactly why we fight for what we do in normal times - so that we can pull together as a nation to see off a crisis. And it means we must start helping the government with constructive ideas to map a course to sound public finances in the coming years.
That is why, in addition to the measures already announced, the TaxPayers' Alliance is recommending these further policy actions to help tackle the current crisis.