Labour demands Rishi Sunak pledge new financial support for businesses forced to shut during local lockdowns as the party warns without help people will not comply with the rules
- Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said firms will need local lockdown support
- She said failure to make funding available risks people ignoring lockdown rules
- Ms Dodds also said Labour would not support any tax rises at Autumn budget
Labour today demanded Chancellor Rishi Sunak bring forward a new funding package to prop up businesses hit by local lockdowns as the party warned a lack of support would risk people disregarding the rules.
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds suggested if firms which are told to shut because of a coronavirus spike cannot access Government cash to keep them afloat then they could fail to comply with restrictions.
Ms Dodds said that would ‘obviously have a very significant impact on all of us’ because flouting restrictions would hamper efforts to stop the spread of infection.
Local lockdowns are now the Government’s main strategy for tackling new coronavirus outbreaks.
Ministers believe the a ‘whack-a-mole’ approach of pouncing on local surges in infection will prevent the need for another national lockdown.
But Ms Dodds said without a funding lifeline for affected businesses and workers the measures will not be ‘as effective as they could be’.
Meanwhile, the shadow chancellor also said Labour will oppose any move by Mr Sunak at the autumn Budget to increase taxes.
Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, has urged the Government to bring forward a funding package to help firms hit by local lockdowns
Meanwhile, Ms Dodds said Labour would oppose any move by Rishi Sunak to increase taxes at the autumn Budget
She said the Government should be focused on growing the UK economy to pay for the crisis.
It comes after Labour appeared to advocate imposing a wealth tax to pay for the economic damage done by lockdown before then backing away from the proposal.
The Government is in the process of winding down its furloughed workers scheme with the programme already closed to new applications.
But Ms Dodds suggested it should be reopened to firms which are asked to shut during local lockdowns amid fears statutory sick pay will not be enough for workers who are asked to stay at home.
She told The Guardian: ‘If there is insufficient financial support there, that means they are not as effective as they could be.
‘And that would obviously have a very significant impact on all of us.’
Ms Dodds said there ‘needs to be some kind of package there to support jobs and employment’.
‘Unless you have that, you’re going to be risking people’s ability to comply with the guidelines,’ she added.
Ms Dodds’ comments come after Boris Johnson announced last Friday that councils and ministers are getting new powers to impose ‘lightning lockdowns’.
The powers will allow local authorities to ‘close specific premises, shut public outdoor spaces and cancel events’.
Ministers will be able to close whole sectors or types of premises in a specific area and impose local stay at home orders.
Ms Dodds sparked a political row at the start July after she suggested Labour is in favour of imposing a wealth tax to pay for the damage done by the crisis.
But she subsequently insisted the priority should be on growing the UK economy to pay for lockdown as the party seemingly cooled its support for the policy.
She has now gone even further as she said Labour will oppose any move by Mr Sunak to increase taxes at his autumn Budget.
She said that increasing income tax or VAT ‘wouldn’t be helpful at this stage’ and that where Mr Sunak ‘needs to be focused right now is on growth above all.’