The government has long held the view that the best way to combat poverty is to help people into jobs. It is easier to get to a better paid job from a starter job than from no job at all.
The government had been very successful at creating the right conditions for many more jobs to be created. This Parliament was meant to be about securing more and better training for the many, so they can get better paid jobs. Business will work smarter as the workforce becomes better trained, and better supported with technology.
The current surge in unemployment is a most unwelcome interruption in this policy. People who lose their jobs or who are told they can no longer earn from their self employed businesses are suddenly plunged into poverty through no fault of their own. Many did not earn enough to save for a rainy day, and have no other sources of cash or income to fall back on. It is all very well for senior civil servants and Ministers with well paid jobs to tell them they must not work. They can afford to because they will still be paid, and can work from home in many cases.
It is vitally important we end the rise in unemployment as soon as possible. If we can start the return to work soon we may be able to retrieve the position more quickly. If we stay in Lock Down Britain for too long more of these jobs will be lost for good. The UK needs more productive capacity. We need to make more things for ourselves and grow more of our own food. This needs more all the companies and entrepreneurs we now have and more besides.
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