Duh! Because it is not real money and there will come a time when it has to be accounted for - either by currency debasement (think Weimar) or extra taxes to pay it off.

I think that approach has been tried a few times already - and failed miserably every time.

It is absolutely true - because the Lombardy lockdown leaked 24 hours in advance, thousands left for the south and now the epidemic is increasing there, just as it is finally decreasing in northern Italy.

This elderly Londoner should be doing the govt #CoronaaVirus information films

*Fruity language@lbc #c4news #newsnight #covid19UK

pic.twitter.com/5gOuKAekni

— I Am Incorrigible FCA (@ImIncorrigible) March 18, 2020

Yes its happening.

I just pray its only central London and not here. 

I agree but the government has been abysmal:

1) Schools should have been closed days ago. Everyone knew it was coming.

2) Khan should have been invited to the governments meetings sooner - once he was added it was obvious extreme measures were under discussion in London

On a slightly different note the NHS has been oversold for years by all three political parties. Our failure to have a grown up discussion about health provision is a source of national shame.

Because the NHS is our damn national religion. In the US it's guns, in Italy it's pasta and in Sweeden it's gender pronouns. Here it's the godawful 3rd world excuse for healthcare that seems about the only thing it's politically acceptable to have national pride in despite it being the inside joke of the rest of christendom.

Have you got a source? I can't find anything and the report earlier this afternoon (which I referenced) was bogus.

Yes, it’ll be like the Weimar Republic, one wheelbarrow full of bank notes for a pack of fags. On the plus side everyone’s mortgages will be inflated down to nothing in short order...

Being widely reported now:

London braced for coronavirus 'lockdown' as restrictions face being tightened

Multiple sources told the Mirror they expect restrictions to be tightened in the capital. Exact measures and timing are not yet known - but emergency laws will soon allow the government to shut venues and restrict travel if needed

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/london-braced-coronavirus-lockdown-restrictions-21714419?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

Daily Fail is starting to panic. I don't blame them:

Get a grip Boris

Britain's coronavirus infections soar 676 in a DAY: Another U-turn from Boris as he announces government in talks to buy four-hour testing kit as he finally admits screening needs to increase from 5,000 to 25,000 a day

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

The government continues to mishandle this.

Who are these 'sources'

They need to be imprisoned.

Utter t*ats.

You can see that even his smirk seems to have disappeared these days, it's because he knows that (unlike with Brexit) he cannot easily bullsh1t himself out of this crisis. He will still try of course, the scientists will probably be the first to be scapegoated.

But if nothing is done we will see massive deflation as wealth is wiped out as businesses go bust.  Which is the lesser evil?  A slump and huge levels of unemployment or a bout of inflation.

My knowledge of economics is a little rusty but does filling a void caused by huge numbers of people suddenly not spending money have to lead to uncontrolled inflation?

Hi Robert,

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That's the approach that we have adopted and the result is a range of special markets based on the PM's Daily Briefing. Watch it live on BBC One from 4:30pm.

How long will Boris address the nation for? We're currently priced at 36-38 minutes for today's 'Length of Briefing', with 'Sips of Water' available at 1.5-2.5.

The phrase of the moment from the Government has been 'Whatever it Takes', but how many times will it be used in today's briefing? We're currently offering this at 2.5-3.5, with mentions of the 'NHS' priced at 12-14.

We appreciate that the situation is a serious one, we're just trying to look for glimmers of light-heartedness during an otherwise dismal period. We hope you're all staying as safe as possible and look forward to the not-too-distant future when the sports that we love are back up and running.

I'm not saying it's a bad policy at all. This was a response to beast's question about why you can't just do this all the time. Doing this in 'peacetime' (since we are effectively in wartime mode now) would be a disaster.

Having just had a close relative spend time in intensive care and helped to full recovery from a life threatening condition by an absolutely fantastic team in the NHS, I find your comment above even worse than the usual garbage that come from your keyboard 

He's probably wishing he hadn't taken the job.

Looking around I'm not sure there's any standout candidate who would do a better job.  On the other hand Churchill had his flaws but still stepped up and provided the leadership needed.

The line about the the correct timing and responding to the latest data is also quite tired now. We don't have the luxury to wait until the data changes on the ground, there is a significant lag involved!

I'm sorry but facts are facts. On just about every possible metric the NHS is the worst healthcare system in the western world, 2nd only to the US.