Brown warns of ‘tsunami’ of job losses

BRITAIN is a facing a ‘tsumani of unemployment’ unless efforts to protect jobs are stepped up, insists former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The ex-Labour leader has called for the Government to rethink plans and for the Bank of England to put more focus on dealing with unemployment in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think that there should now be an operational target that interest rates will not rise and stimulus will continue until employment returns to pre-crisis levels.

‘It’s a change. It’s in line with what the Federal Reserve is doing. I think other banks around the world are going to do something similar. And I think the Bank of England, at this point is, I’m afraid, behind the curve.

‘They have got to send a signal that employment really matters. We are facing a tsunami of unemployment.

‘The Office for Budget Responsibility says that unemployment will double in the next few weeks, so it will be about three million at least. Now, that means that unemployment in some of the poorest communities will be 20 per cent.

‘I think the Government has got to change course here.’

Asked if that meant keeping the jobs furlough scheme beyond the end of October, Mr Brown said: ‘That means keeping people in the labour market if at all possible.

‘Probably by some incentive, like in France and Germany for part-time work, which is going to go through in these countries right through 2021.

‘We have to rethink what we were planning for the post-October situation. The October 31 cliff edge is going to be so damaging for lost jobs.’

Mr Brown also appeared on BBC Breakfast and said: ‘I’ve just got to be honest. What’s being proposed at the moment is totally inadequate.’

It comes just weeks after a think tank led by Mr Brown warned that the number of people on the jobs scrapheap in Scotland will soar beyond 250,000 unless urgent action is taken. The Our Scottish Future group said the unemployment rate could hit 10 per cent soon after the furlough scheme ends.

A report published by the group stated nearly one in three workers have been furloughed and estimated around 21 per cent of employees have still not returned to work, while 55 per cent of firms say they are likely to axe jobs.

Unemployment increased by 11,000 to 124,000 in the period from April to June and sits at 4.5 per cent, the highest in the UK.

Mr Brown said Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson need to ‘bury the hatchet’ and work on a ‘programme for governments’ to tackle the looming jobs disaster.