LISTEN: Gordon Brown on coronavirus impact and action needed

Gordon Brown talked to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning about how the UK government should improve its approach to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think this is the week where the government has to act to deal with employment protections… We’ve got to have some sharing of responsibility about employment,” the former Prime Minister said.

He warned of a “second wave of redundancies” after the first wave that is currently taking place, but rejected the US approach of sending cheques directly to citizens as “scattergun”.

Brown called for a “coordinated fiscal stimulus” similar to the one undertaken in 2008, arguing that interest rate cuts and credit “can only take us so far”, as well as coordination on medical equipment.

He pointed out that “the young are more economically insecure but more medically protected”, while “the older people are more medically vulnerable and perhaps more economically secure”.

On a global response, Brown said that there had been “too much of this populist nationalism”, in the form of “America first, India first, China first”, adding: “We’re finding that we’re connected and depend on each other, whether we like it or not.”

The former Labour PM also suggested that the Brexit trade deal should be delayed because the world needs more open trade rather than further barriers to trade amid the pandemic.