Kwasi Kwarteng thinks the future response to the pandemic will be “less draconian.” the future government is unlikely to be locked down again due to costs.
The former chancellor said that due to the “huge impact” of the lockdown on the economy, “whoever is in power, I don't think the answer will be that
In an interview with The Lockdown Files The Telegraph podcast, Mr Kwarteng reflected on the government’s response to Covid and said that “the impact of this [lockdown] has been huge and I’m not sure the government would want to go through it again.”
The MP who served as chancellor under Liz Truss said he thought the future response would be “less draconian” and could include calling on vulnerable groups to isolate and be “more strategic and purposeful.”
He also said he believed the pandemic had a “huge impact” on sick pay in the long run because it “changed our relationship with the government.”
Commenting on Ms Truss' dismissal after just 38 days in this position, Mr. Kwarteng said that it was not a “great feeling” to be called from the United States and fired, and that it was “disappointing”
< p>The Telegraph The Lockdown Files podcast features interviews with former ministers who served during the pandemic, as well as advisers and officials, that reveal the inside story of the government's response to the coronavirus crisis.
The Lockdown Files podcast – Episode 5 – Aftermath
The Covid crisis has led to high levels of public spending, with the total cost of measures reaching £410bn, according to a parliamentary report released this year.
Asked how history would judge the response to Covid, Mr Kwarteng said he thought “people will say the government did its best. But I think there was also a lot of confusion and confusion.”
He said the virus was something unprecedented, but among the errors were delays in the release of the roadmap from quarantine.
The former chancellor said: “The test of this is that if it happens again, will the same reaction occur? And I don't think it would. I think we would try to keep the situation open for longer and actually deal with the threat of the virus, but in a less draconian way.”
He said he thought “we will try to isolate and act more strategically.” and focused on how we dealt with it.”
Mr Kwarteng commented that “the economic impact was very big, no doubt,” adding: “People will say we saved lives. But I think, I think it's had a huge impact. I don't think it will happen [again]… whoever is in power, I don't think the reaction will be the same.”
He pointed to the financial impact of the pandemic, saying: “The debt we are in. The fact that taxes had to go up to pay for these debts, the fact that, as you know, we are not growing very fast.”
“So I think the consequences of that were enormous. And I'm not sure the government would want to go through this again.”
He also commented on the social impact of the lockdown, stating that some children “have a hard time interacting with other children now because many of them spent their first years locked up.”
Responding to a question about a mini-budget he unveiled in the fall of 2022 that cost the country an estimated £30bn, Mr Kwarteng admitted that “we are too much too fast” but it was “not very constructive” to “keep talking about it”.
Listen to The Telegraph's latest podcast series, The Lockdown Files using the audio player in this article, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere where you get your podcasts.
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