Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, has urged the
2019 intake of Conservative MPs to “do the right thing” and save
hundreds of thousands of jobs in their constituencies by voting
today for a targeted extension of the Government’s wage support
schemes for the hardest-hit sectors of the economy.
New analysis by the Labour Party estimates that over
650,000 people were still fully furloughed by their employer in
the middle of August across the 107 seats won by a new
Conservative MP at the last General Election.
This means 44 per cent of workers in these constituencies
who were moved onto the Government’s Coronavirus Jobs Retention
Scheme (CJRS) in the early phase of the Covid-19 crisis remain
fully furloughed by their employer over four months later.
Labour’s figures also show that almost 400,000 people in
the same constituencies had made claims under the Coronavirus
Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) by the end of
July.
Despite this, Chancellor is pushing ahead with his one-size-fits-all withdrawal
of both the CJRS and SEISS schemes across the entire economy by
the end of October.
People will lose support even if their business are not yet
back to normal or if they live in an area subject to new local
restrictions – and regardless of how important the sector they
work in is to the long-term health of the economy.
With just weeks to go until the Government support schemes
end for good, over a million workers in these new Tory seats face
an uncertain future unless their MPs force the Chancellor into a
U-turn.
Labour will today offer them a chance to do that by holding
a vote on a targeted extension of the CJRS and SEISS schemes
beyond the Chancellor’s 31 October cliff edge.
Labour’s motion for today’s Opposition Day Debate calls on
the Government to introduce targeted income support to businesses
and self-employed people in the sectors of the economy hit
hardest hit by the virus, and in areas of the country placed
under local restrictions due to rising rates of infection.
This targeted extension is vital for sectors that are
critical to the UK's economic recovery, from highly skilled
manufacturing to the creative industries.
, Labour’s
Shadow Chancellor, speaking ahead of the
debate, said:
“For months, the Chancellor has ignored calls from
businesses, trade unions and the devolved governments to abandon
his disastrous one-size-fits-all withdrawal of wage support
across the entire economy.
“Unless he changes course now, over half a million jobs
could go in constituencies represented by those Conservative MPs
who entered Parliament for the first time less than a year
ago.
“It’s clear the Chancellor is too stubborn to admit he’s
got this wrong. The 2019 Tory intake have the power to
forceaU-turn on the furlough cliff-edge before it’s too late for
the people they represent.
“They should do the right thingand voteto extend income
support for jobs and businesses in the hardest-hit sectors and
areas under local restrictions.
“If they don’t, sectors vital to the UK’s economic recovery
such as highly-skilled manufacturing and the creative industries
will suffer.”
Ends
Notes to editors
·
·On Wednesday 9 September 2020
Labour will hold an Opposition Day Debate on the Protection of
Jobs and Businesses. The text of the motion to voted upon will
be:
That this House calls for the government to abandon its
one-size-fits-all withdrawal of the Coronavirus Job Retention and
Self-Employment Income Support Schemes, and instead offer
targeted income support to businesses and self-employed people in
those sectors of the economy that have been hardest hit by the
virus and are most in need of continuing assistance, and in those
areas of the country which have been placed under local
restrictions due to rising rates of infection.
·
·HMRC have released data on the
cumulative total number of employments furloughed under the
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme by constituency. It has also
released data on the number of employments furloughed on each day
of the scheme, up to and including 30June 2020. According to this
data, the number of employments furloughed nationally on 30June
was 6,815,500 – 71% of the cumulative total of 9,601,700
employments furloughed nationally.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-august-2020
·
·The ONS Business Impact of
Coronavirus Survey shows that between 15and 28June 2020, 17.4% of
the workforce were on furlough leave. The most recent period (10
to 23 August 2020) show this figure at 10.9%. This suggests that
of the cumulative total of employments furloughed nationally,
around 44% were still fully furloughed in
mid-August.https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronavirustheukeconomyandsocietyfasterindicators/latest
·
·In the 107 constituencies won by
a new Conservative candidate in the 2019 General Election, a
cumulative total of 1,486,100 employments have been furloughed.
Assuming national trends apply in these constituencies, by
mid-August 2020 around 660,800 employments were still furloughed
in these seats.
·
·HMRC has also released data on
the total number of Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
claims made to 31st July 2020 by constituency. This shows that in
the 107 new Conservative seats, 393,400 claims have been
made.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-august-2020
