A year of Covid lockdowns has cost the UK economy £251bn

A year of Covid-19 lockdowns has cost the UK economy £251bn – the equivalent of the entire annual output of the south-east of England or nearly twice that of Scotland, according to a report published on Monday.

Analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that while the whole of the country had suffered huge damage from restrictions on activity since the first national lockdown began, some poorer regions had suffered the most.

The consultancy said the north-south gap would widen unless the government took steps to ensure that the less well-off parts of the UK did not disproportionately bear the economic losses caused by the pandemic.

Main Photo: NHS (National Health Service) ads are on display in Ealing, west London, Britain . EPA-EFE/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

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