The Workers Union is backing chancellor Rishi Sunak’s recovery plan for the UK’s economy.
The announcement came as Mr Sunak revealed outline details of his proposals ahead of the budget on the 3rd of March. In an emailed statement, he said that he would ‘set out the next stage of our plan for jobs, and the support we’ll provide through the remainder of the pandemic and our recovery.’
The plan will commit to spending billions of pounds in additional support for companies and individuals to provide a safety net after existing schemes are wound down.
Mr Sunak’s spending initiatives will come as a relief to businesses that stand to remain closed for some time yet. On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a roadmap for removing lockdown constraints. And while many parents will be relieved to see their children back at school from the 8th of March, some sectors of the economy will have to wait a lot longer to welcome their customers back through the door.
The hospitality industry, for example, will continue to be very hard hit, with pubs and restaurants unable to reopen until April the 12th at the earliest. Meanwhile clubs, theatres, concert halls and sports venues are subject to capacity restrictions until the 21st of June at least, putting extra strain on their ability to stay afloat.
The Workers Union on the Chancellor’s Recovery Plan
We’re backing Mr Sunak to deliver the right support at the right time. Despite occasional bumps in the road, he’s shown the intellectual heft and empathy to grasp the enormity of the situation that many working people face. And perhaps most crucially of all, he hasn’t allowed himself to be tyrannised by the record levels of government borrowing required to help people through this traumatic time.
But we’re taking nothing for granted. What we want to see is a cast-iron guarantee that the Prime Minister’s pledge to do ‘whatever it takes’ to buttress our economy will be carried out. That means more money for job support schemes, more tax breaks and grants for struggling businesses, and supplementary spending on apprenticeships and job creation programmes.
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