COVID crisis: The economic emergency and 5 days of Christmas

COVID crisis: The economic emergency and 5 days of Christmas

By Sky News

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his spending review - his economic plan for the year ahead.

The UK is having to face up to the scale of the financial cost caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain's economy is expected to shrink by 11.3% this year, while unemployment is predicted to rise to 7.5% by next summer - that's 2.6 million people.

Tough choices have been made, including a pay freeze for non-NHS public sector workers earning more than £24,000 and a cut to foreign aid spending next year.

But more are likely to follow. And what might relaxing rules for five days of Christmas mean for our road to recovery?

On this edition of the Sky News Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan, we hear personal stories from people who have been affected by the pandemic.

Plus, we are joined by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jesse Norman, as well as Sky's Sophy Ridge and our business correspondent Paul Kelso, as we take a closer look at the measures being taken by the government.

Daily podcast team:
Podcast producer - Annie Joyce
Podcast producer - Nicola Eyers
Podcast producer – Emma Rae Woodhouse
Podcast producer Cat Soave
Interviews producer - Oli Foster
Interviews producer - Tatiana Alderson
Archive - Simon Windsor
Music - Steven Wheeler
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