Chancellor is putting us on course for job hell like 1980s

WHEN the Government’s furlough scheme ends next week, millions of people will wonder what’s next.

Even if they’ve kept their job, they probably know many who haven’t.

There has been a record rise in redundancies over the past three months, and 8,000 jobs have gone in the past four weeks alone.

It’s also just a month since the Chancellor introduced his “Winter Economy Plan” to save jobs.

But it wasn’t even a real plan. We know this because the Chancellor keeps coming back to Parliament to change it.

Many will wonder why the Chancellor introduced new support now when areas in the North and Midlands have been under restrictions for so long. When I asked him yesterday what had changed, other than London moving into Tier 2, he couldn’t answer me.

The PM also said people on the lowest incomes working for closed businesses will get at least 80% of their pre-crisis income.

But nothing the Chancellor said yesterday will help that happen.

We need a two or three-week circuit breaker to fix testing, protect the NHS and save livelihoods.

The Government’s refusal to bring one in could cost the UK economy as much as £110billion. That means more job losses, more shuttered businesses.

We also need the Chancellor to start listening. His stubborn refusal to address problems of his own making until the last possible minute is costing jobs and causing chaos.

That’s why we’re on course for a 1980s-style jobs crisis.