Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s long-overdue announcement was set to be a further corporate bailout – but changed as a result of intense lobbying by Labour movement
Rishi Sunak has announced a huge package of support for workers, benefits claimants and renters – but only after a campaign of intense pressure from Labour unions and the Labour Party.
The government will guarantee 80% of wages for workers who are ‘furloughed’ – not at work but not laid off – up to a maximum of £2,500 per month, along with support, along with increases to housing benefit, working tax credit and Universal Credit.
The ‘furlough’ pay will be backdated to 1 March under the ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’.
However, these measures have had to be wrung from the Tories by a concerted effort by unions, spearheaded by Unite’s Assistant General Secretary Howard Beckett.
The SKWAWKBOX understands that the Tories were originally planning further bail-outs for companies, but have now linked funds directly to the retention of workers as well as diverting cash to struggling low-paid workers, the unemployed and disabled people.
An additional £1 billion will be made available to ensure that housing benefit is a minimum of 30% of market rents in any area, as well as an additional £1,000 per year to Universal Credit claimants.
The SKWAWKBOX congratulates Labour and the union movement on a huge victory for ordinary people.
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Johnson is only doing this because of the fear from the Tories it will lose the next GE. Evidence, they didn’t give a toss about the 220,000 homeless, the people sleeping on the streets, the 1,000,000 food parcels handed out to people, many of whom are working, the 120,000 deaths attributable to their austerity measures. Just imagine how Jeremy Corbyn and the democratic socialist Labour Party would have coped with this pandemic, if the “ moderates, centrists “, Blairites, Labour First, Progress, Nathan Yeowell, Luke Akehurst, Hodge, Phillips, Mann and Starmer plus Thornberry etc had not greatly contributed to the party not winning the GE under a very honourable and decent human being.
WASPI women without pensions ? Now would be the time to correct this Tory THEFT ! Give them their rightfully earned pensions you Tory bastards
UIB ?
Rob…If my German doctor friend out here is correct at least 10percent will be dead in bed…!so loose out in every way.I am told that the government have just purchsed a dectector for mapping the progress of the scientific experiment of the British corona virus.Note its cost a few million but cannot detect a person who is infected with the virus,just those who have recovrred.
But, what about the self-employed? Millions of them who until now were invited into peoples’ homes to undertake household maintenance tasks such as plumbing, painting & decorating etc but cannot enter peoples’ homes in case of transmitting or receiving the virus. Are they merely, now, part of an increasing army of unemployed?
So all those currently in receipt of Universal Credit will get £20 a week more? It’s very vague about ‘new’ Sick Benefit; does everybody get it and how much is it now? Is the time taken to claim and receive UC abolished? There are many questions; no doubt young Rishi hasn’t worked it out himself yet.
Yes indeed. In many ways the self employed were the true base of the Tory vote in December, not the old duffers who increasingly disapprove of him and will soon be I’m afraid, dead.
John Lincoln.. You open up a can of worms,with that one.Will Boris Johnson show loyalty to the self employed artisans and taxi drivers,many of whom voted for him.Britain needs skilled workers and artisans and one day we will be able to build more houses for ordinary people.But looking at how the Torys are sacrificing the elderly who voted for him it looks like increasingly obvious that the Tory support for business and the self employed only stretches to small companys like ICI and the CBI giving a dose of good cheer to the banksters as well.Torys dont reward “them”only the “US”its in their inbred DNA.
Has it now become the norm for presenters and guests to refer to Bunter simply as Boris .Listening to BBC radio 5 this morning must have called the PM Boris on dozens of occasions. I cannot recall this with any previous PM,don’t recall Mr Wilson being Harry or Mr Callaghan being Jimbo.Suppose Thatcher was always Maggie so can only assume the media deliberately try to portray the most unpleasant,uncaring politicians as human by pretending we are on first name terms with them.