Lockdown to cost £1.8bn a day, says economistEconomist Douglas McWilliams, founder of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, has warned that the four-week lockdown starting in England on Thursday will wipe £1.8bn off the value of the economy for every day it lasts. He also said the economic pressure is set to stretch beyond year end, meaning the recession brought on by the pandemic is likely to last until spring 2021.