‘24 hours to save British jobs’: Labour launches ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’ campaign

‘24 hours to save British jobs’: Labour launches ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’ campaign with warning of “jobs squeeze” on British businesses

• Labour warns Chancellor he has 24 hours to change course or risk “a historic mistake”.
• New analysis by Labour lays bare the impact still felt by key businesses.
• Party launches new nationwide ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’ campaign calling on the government to support jobs and businesses.
  

The Labour Party today (Friday 31 July) warns the government it has 24 hours to change course on its disastrous one-size-fits-all plans to withdraw furlough – or risk a “historic mistake” that would hand P45 notices to workers across the country.

From tomorrow, employers will have to pay National Insurance and pension contributions for the hours an employee is on furlough.

This is the first stage of a Government plan to ramp up the cost to business of furloughing employees between now and October, when the scheme will be completely wound down. Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds will call this a “python-like squeeze on jobs” for those industries worst hit by the crisis and still unable to get back to business as usual.

The warning comes as analysis released today by Labour reveals that:

• Footfall for key high street businesses is still down 40% on pre-pandemic levels in the UK

• 43% of businesses in the hardest hit sector are still reporting being temporarily closed

Labour leader Keir Starmer will join the shadow chancellor to launch the party’s nationwide campaign – called ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’ – on a visit to a manufacturer in Peterborough.

The campaign will bring together Labour Party politicians, members and supporters over the coming months, to highlight one of the most important issues facing the country – supporting jobs, workers and businesses through the coronavirus crisis.

Dodds will accuse the government of having “failed to match up to the scale of the crisis” and say that “the fight for jobs and businesses is a fight for a better future.”

The campaign will feature a five-point pledge with the aims of fighting for jobs, keeping workers safe and backing businesses:

• Fight for jobs: by reforming the furlough scheme so that it supports jobs in the worst-hit sectors and targets aid to struggling industries.

• Back our businesses: by setting up a £1.7 billion fightback fund to prevent firms going under and save our high streets.

• Leave no-one behind: by providing additional support to areas forced into local lockdowns, supporting the self-employed and helping those left out of existing schemes.

• Keep workers safe: by protecting workers’ rights, boosting sick pay, making workplaces safe and giving our NHS and care services the resources to avoid a second wave.

• Drive job creation: by investing in infrastructure, accelerating progress towards a zero-carbon economy and increasing access to skills and training opportunities.
  

Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said:

“The Chancellor’s refusal to abandon his one-size-fits-all withdrawal of furlough is a historic mistake that risks a python-like squeeze on jobs in the worst-hit sectors. The reward for months of hard work and sacrifice by the British people cannot be a P45.

“It’s not too late for the Chancellor to see sense, change course and support the businesses and sectors that need it most. But even if he does, there is still much to do.

“That’s why Labour is today launching the Jobs Jobs Jobs campaign – to offer concrete, constructive proposals that would protect the economy and people’s livelihoods.

“The government should back viable businesses that are still impacted by Coronavirus, support the self-employed and come up with a plan to drive job creation as we emerge from the pandemic.

“And it must ensure our NHS and care services are fully prepared for a second wave – because we won’t recover from this economic crisis until the government gets a grip on the health crisis.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• Since the start of the pandemic, Google has released weekly reports tracking movement across different categories of location using Google Maps and other mobile apps. It compares this movement to a pre-pandemic baseline from January and February. The reports provide a useful and timely insight into patterns of economic activity and how they differ to pre-pandemic levels. The reports have been used by analysts and policymakers as a useful tool for tracking the recovery across a number of sectors (the Financial Times, for instance, includes the data as part of its Covid recovery tracker)

Google mobility report,https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/

July 2020,https://www.ft.com/content/272354f2-f970-4ae4-a8ae-848c4baf8f4a

• Data for Saturday 25thof July shows footfall for retail and recreation locations down 40% on pre-pandemic levels, unchanged since Saturday 18thJuly. Footfall on public transport and workplaces is down 37% and 15% respectively. The data is also broken down by local authority.

https://www.gstatic.com/covid19/mobility/2020-07-25_GB_Mobility_Report_en-GB.pdf

• Data on turnover and trading status is from the ONS’s fortnightly Business Impact of Coronavirus Survey (BICS) that asks businesses about the effects of the pandemic on their operations. Survey covered the period from 29thJune to the 12thJuly. 43.7% of businesses in arts, entertainment and recreation report being temporarily closed or temporarily paused trading, along with 21.3% in accommodation and food services. 71.8% in arts and entertainment and 83.9 % in food and accommodation report turnover down from what they’d normally expect for this time of year.

30 July 2020,https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/datasets/businessimpactofcovid19surveybicsresults