COVID & Brexit: The Double-Wicked Challenge - Interview with Claer Barrett

In the latest in its series of podcasts supported by the investment bank Stifel and its European President Eithne O’Leary, Jericho Chambers Partner, Matthew Gwyther speaks to Eithne plus four observers of the UK scene to hear their feelings about the last year and what now lies ahead for Britain as it faces an uncertain future.  The interviewees were Antony Jenkins, Vicky Pryce, Claer Barrett and Professor John Van Reenan of the London School of Economics.Claer Barrett is Consumer Editor at The Financial Times and author of a weekly Money Clinic podcast. She never thought she’d live to see the day when FT readers contact her for help with the UK benefits system. But that become an unpleasant reality in 2020. “The Great Crash of 2008 felt like the end of days to me,” she says. “But this is different and in some ways feels worse as covid is a social not a monetary phenomenon. People are dying.”Jericho Conversations is one of a number of initiatives that spontaneously emerged during the first COVID lockdown – part of a determination to use moments of crisis to pivot towards a better, fairer, more equitable and sustainable future for all. By popular demand, we have reignited the series to help find surprising and refreshing solutions and insights into a world in constant flux. Each conversation – led by an expert speaker – is designed to keep Jericho communities engaged and thinking about “what comes next?” for business and society.