‘Hard times’ lecture is not good enough

ALARM bells should be ringing in No10 after this week’s grim figures for employment and growth.

Nearly one million people have lost their jobs in this crisis and many more are at risk without fast action.

It’s not good enough for ministers to tell us to brace ourselves for “hard times ahead”. The Government claims the country can’t afford to carry on supporting jobs – but the truth is we can’t afford not to.

The price of a return to 1980sstyle unemployment and poverty is too high. Too many families are already living on the breadline.

Heartbreaking figures last week revealed many low-income workers are skipping meals and going hungry during the crisis. That is not right.

No child in Britain should go to bed hungry. No parent should worry about feeding or clothing their kids.

That’s why the TUC has called for an emergency boost to Universal Credit to stop households going under and for sick pay to be hiked to £320 a week if you are forced to self-isolate. These are sensible, compassionate measures the Government should be bringing in.

But the priority must be saving jobs. The job retention scheme showed what is possible during a pandemic. It rescued companies and millions from the dole queue.

Now is not the time to cut off that support. Plenty of firms have a viable future but need flexible help beyond October to keep paying staff while they build up hours and productivity.

Of course there cannot be blank cheques. Business must prove they have proper plans in place.

But the way to get Britain back on its feet is to keep people in work – to invest in the decent jobs we are going to need for the future.

The more jobs we protect and create, the faster we’ll recover.