Economic overview at guest lecture
The audience of the latest Cardiac Rehab Guest Lecture might well have though it was prescient that Dr Hugh Bethell had booked a leading economist for the 10th November, given the impending Autumn statement from the Chancellor! They were certainly not disappointed as Professor Vicky Pryce gave a hugely informative overview of why the UK economy is in a bit of a mess.
Professor Pryce, who is Chief Economic Adviser at the Centre for Economic and Business Research and one of the most sought after commentators in economic matters on TV and radio, explained this very difficult subject in a whistle-stop 45-minute lecture covering the impact of the pandemic, the role of the central banks, the ripples still being felt by the 2008 financial crisis and of course, the “mini-budget” earlier this year. She highlighted how we are performing compared with the rest of the world and looked ahead at the future forecasts being made by the banks as to the likelihood of a recession – very likely over the next two years. However, despite the gloomy forecast, it was fascinating to hear how all these different stimuli and interrelated complex economic measures have worked together to get us to where we are now.
Professor Pryce was thanked by Dr Andrew Bishop, consultant cardiologist at Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital, who celebrated her expertise and for making it all sounds less daunting and dull.
Professor Pryce joins an esteemed list of lecturers who have given their time to entertain the Cardiac Rehab audience, this time raising £4,500 to support the charity’s work. Sarah Quarterman, Chief Executive of the Charity commented: “Vicky Pryce gave us plenty of food for thought about the economy and an expectation of what is yet to come – a truly fascinating lecture. We would like to thank everyone who attended and thanks also to our small army of canapé makers who yet again fed us all admirably. This is one of our key fundraising events of the year and we are delighted to have raised so much.”
