UK had worst Covid-19 economic hit in all of G7     

Last month UK chancellor Rishi Sunak said the way Britain measured its economic output flattered other countries and the country’s performance was not the worst among its peers.

Britain suffered the sharpest economic hit from the Covid-19 pandemic among Group of Seven countries even accounting for big differences in the way government spending is measured, an analysis by the country’s statisticians suggested.

Official figures have previously shown that Britain suffered the biggest drop in economic output - adjusted for inflation - in the G7 between the first and third quarters of 2020.

Last month UK chancellor Rishi Sunak said the way Britain measured its economic output flattered other countries and the country’s performance was not the worst among its peers. 

However, the UK Office for National Statistics said some of Britain’s slump could indeed be explained by the way the output of government services such as education and healthcare was measured and it was hard to make international comparisons.

“But one helpful approach is to remove volume estimates of government consumption expenditure - this shows that the UK has still experienced the largest contraction but that the relative comparison with the rest of the G7 is not as large,” it said. 

Britain also suffered the G7’s biggest drop in household spending, the ONS said, noting that the country’s lockdown restrictions have generally been tighter and were imposed for longer. Britain has had one of the world’s highest Covid-19 mortality rates. 

Reuters