London, June 28(UNI) The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday pledged that his government will "not go back to the austerity of ten years ago" ahead of a speech next week, even as the British economy shrank by 20.4% in April - the largest monthly fall on record.
"We are absolutely not going back to the austerity of ten years ago," he told the Mail on Sunday.
In the interview Boris Johnson set out his plans for a post-COVID economic recovery.
They will include a new taskforce, led by the chancellor, which he says will look at speeding up the building of hospitals, schools and roads.
The new Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce will look at major infrastructure projects in the pipeline and remove "bottlenecks at every step of development and delivery".
Number 10 hopes a building boom will boost jobs while improving connectivity for cities, towns and villages.
The membership of the taskforce, led by Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be set out in "due course", a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Number 10's confirmation of an infrastructure drive follows a call by ex-Tory prime minister Sir John Major who warned against raising taxes even as the country decides how it should get the economy back on track.
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