MP, Labour's Shadow
Chancellor, responding to the Budget,
said:
“We have to work together as a country to overcome the
threat from coronavirus, and we pay tribute to the work of
experts and NHS workers who are dealing with the crisis.
“But lessons must be learned. After ten years of cuts our
health and social care services are utterly ill-prepared to
deal with the outbreak, and unfortunately the impact of the
crisis is likely to be sharper because of a fundamentally weak
economy and the crisis in public services created by actions of
Conservative governments over the past ten years.
“There unfortunately appear to be major holes in the
coronavirus package, with no extension of statutory sick pay to
those on zero-hours contracts, nothing for others without a
contract of employment, and no suggestion that sick pay levels
will be increased, and no new money for our struggling social
care system.
“The Conservatives have neglected infrastructure investment
over a decade of decline, and the measures announced today are
not at the scale needed or underpinned by a plan to tackle the
existential threat of climate change.
“At a time when the public urgently needs security and
significant change, this Budget leaves us let down and
potentially more vulnerable, especially those facing insecurity
at work and in their lives. It is a disappointing Budget that
reveals a government failing to rise to the challenges of the
moment.”
