Well, yes, mebbe:
The second letter, organised by Lord Skidelsky, Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Warwick University, criticised those who signed the Sunday Times letter.
They wrote: \”They argue that the UK entered the recession with a large structural deficit and that \’as a result the UK\’s deficit is now the largest in our peacetime history\’. What they fail to point out is that the current deficit reflects the deepest and longest global recession since the war, with extraordinary public sector fiscal and financial support needed to prevent the UK economy falling off a cliff.\”
It is entirely possible that both things be true. That the current deficit reflects both the extraordinary measures and also a very large structural deficit.
Indeed, the general opinion seems to be that both are true.