ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the economic storytelling about crisis by examining the case of the United Kingdom (UK) since the COVID-19 crash in early 2020. Government responses to the global COVID-19 varied greatly. The global impact of the resulting crisis was significant because of the dual nature of public health crisis bringing about economic instability. The balance between public health and economic stability is a political choice and each national government developed a bespoke approach.and each national government developed a bespoke approach. While scientists and medical communities engaged in unprecedented levels of international coordination, there was comparatively little coordination or leadership by the International Monetary Fund or World Bank, so each government chose its own response. The trigger of economic crisis can manifest in various forms, such as a stock market crash, a banking collapse, or a currency crisis. The aftermath often brings severe consequences for the countries affected, including recessions, high unemployment rates, and prolonged financial insecurity. In the UK, 2020 marked the country’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) after four long years of negotiations, which had already generated domestic economic stagnation. This makes the UK a unique case study in the economic storytelling about crisis, because the domestic economy has endured successive crisis in 2008 (global financial crisis), 2016 (Brexit vote), and 2020 (COVID pandemic).
