The scare stories about government debt are back. Ignore them | Simon Wren-Lewis

Fiscal hawks are using the same lines as they did in 2009. But there's no reason to fear a sovereign debt crisis

UK austerity, which lasted from 2010 to 2019, was all about bad timing. When coming out of a deep recession the only thing the Treasury should have been thinking about was how to get as complete an economic recovery as possible. Only when the recovery was exhausted, such that inflation and interest rates were rising substantially, was it time to worry about balancing the books.

Unfortunately, the Treasury in 2009 had more people in it worrying about the deficit than worrying about the economy. They persuaded the then Labour chancellor, Alistair Darling, to frame his discourse around the recovery and the deficit. The stage was wide open for George Osborne, helped by the mainstream media, to just focus on the deficit alone. The result was a recovery from recession that should have happened in 2010 being delayed until 2013.

Related: As in 2008, this crisis will bring winners and losers. This time, let's get it right | Carys Roberts

There should be no discussion about the deficit until interest rates and inflation start rising substantially because of excess domestic demand