“This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.”
That swift action to offer lockdown grants earned praise from the Confederation of British Industry who described the injection of cash as “sorely needed”.
But news that high street crafts retailer Paperchase is facing administration underlined that point as the firm’s 1,500 face an uncertain future following what bosses described the “unbearable strain” already put on the high street thanks to Covid-19 disruption.
In response to the growing economic crisis, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds criticised Sunak’s Twitter announcement of the new measures and called for him to announce more support in a statement in the House of Commons when parliament is recalled tomorrow.
Dodds said: “After the Prime Minister forgot to mention the economy again last night, millions of people were let down by the Chancellor’s 90-second cameo today.
“Instead of delivering the support that Britain needed, he’s ploughing on with plans to hit people in their pockets with pay cuts, benefits cuts and tax rises.
“People have had enough of the last-minute scramble from this absent Chancellor. Rishi Sunak must come to Parliament tomorrow and finally set out a long-term plan to protect jobs and livelihoods and put Britain on the path to a better, more secure recovery.”
Labour’s demands include support from people who don’t receive government support during the pandemic, which ExcludedUK say is leaving three million self-employed people without financial help.
The pressure group – who The Big Issue this week named among our 2021 Changemakers – demanded that the Chancellor included a one-off £2,000 payment for the people excluded from meaningful support as well as monthly payments of 80 per cent of pre-Covid income up to £2,500 per month throughout the lockdown period.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has championed the cause – alongside fellow Metro Mayors in Manchester and Liverpool Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram – and he reiterated the need for the Government to ensure no one slips through the cracks in the new lockdown.
“I welcome this announcement of much-needed additional support, which business groups and I have been calling for,” said Khan. “It should have come sooner and it won’t replace the revenue lost over the vital Christmas period, but it should help many struggling retail, hospitality and leisure businesses stay afloat until spring.
“Clearly more help is needed – It’s scandalous that there are three million excluded self-employed people who continue to be ignored, many of whom are left facing the impact of these tougher restrictions alone.”
Campaigners for workers rights warned Sunak that the time is now to invest in protecting jobs.
The TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady called on the Chancellor to boost sick pay to a real Living Wage and increase Universal Credit. The current £20 increase to Universal Credit is set to expire in April with the furlough scheme also set to run until the end of that month.
O’Grady said: “The government’s financial support package isn’t good enough to cope with this renewed public health emergency. Without more support, jobs will be lost and businesses will close.
“The Government must not force a choice between lives and livelihoods.”
