This cartoon by Dave Brown from The Independent relates to news that Britain appears to be heading towards a double-dip recession.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is portrayed as a doctor attending to the skeleton of Britannia (the female personification of Great Britain). Dr Osborne remarks, "... but the good news is ... she's not getting any deader!" The implication being that the UK economy is in such a bad way that it can't get any worse.
VOCABULARY
The title of the cartoon 'flatlining' is a medical term. A hospital patient is said to be flatlining when they register as having no brain waves or heartbeat on an electronic monitor. However, the term can also be applied to an economy which is showing no signs of growth: Interest rates are to stick at 0.5% for another month as the Bank of England tries to revive the flatlining economy with another £75 billion of quantitive easing. So the cartoonist is using a play on words.
ALSO SEE
• Double-dip looms as slump hits economy (The Independent)
