UK economy: a full recovery from the Covid slump will be slow

Job losses and possibility of second closures likely to hinder emergence from recession

• UK economy plunges into deepest recession since records began
• Why is Britain's GDP down more than other major countries?
• How does UK's Covid recession compare with previous ones?

Twice as bad as the US. Ten times worse than anything seen during the financial crash of the late 2000s. Worse than any EU country. The UK is planted firmly at the bottom of the Covid-19 developed country league table after the economy contracted by a fifth in the second quarter of 2020, wiping out more than a decade and a half of growth in three months.

The reasons Britain is once again being dubbed by some the sick man of Europe" are pretty clear. After weeks of dithering, the government imposed a lockdown that was tougher and lasted for longer than elsewhere. Germany reopened non-essential stores; after 50 days; in England it took 84 days.