“The UK has entered recession in the throes of a world pandemic. Good thing they have Brexit coming along to boost that economy eh...” a Twitter user said in a post, following the Wednesday news of an economic plunge for Britain.
Reacting to the figures, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Twitter users turned up their irony level in the face “a record decline, losing 20.4 percent in Quarter 2.”
The ONS figures mean that technically Britain is in a recession, given its negative growth in the first two quarters this year. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown measures taken by the UK government, businesses have struggled to keep afloat and many have been forced to shut down. On top of economic distress, Britain still has to face negotiations on its future trade relationship with the EU member states.