Blame will lie squarely with Johnson and Sunak.
Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson have been warned that the blame for a “tidal wave of inevitable job losses will lie solely at their door”, unless they urgently U-turn on their reckless plans to prematurely scrap the furlough scheme in just a matter of days.
The warning comes as fears grow for around one million jobs at risk due to the furlough scheme shutting down this weekend, particularly in those areas where stronger public health measures will be in force due to rising coronavirus cases.
Earlier, figures revealed that UK employers in September planned to push ahead with redundancies close to the record levels seen in 2006, due to the impact of a rise in cases and increased public health measures, with 1,734 employers notifying the UK government of their intention to cut 20 or more posts.
Commenting, SNP Shadow Chancellor Alison Thewliss MP (pictured) said:
“At a time when we are seeing a worrying rise in coronavirus cases and strengthened public health measures, it is nothing short of reckless for the Tory government to ignore all warnings and plough ahead with its plans to prematurely shut down the furlough scheme.
“The reality is that if Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson continue to refuse to extend crucial financial support to help businesses survive and to protect jobs, then the blame for the tidal wave of inevitable job losses will lie solely at their door.
“As we see the devastating impact of a second wave, it is absolutely critical that financial support packages are strengthened and extended.
“We have been saying this for months now.
“To add to concerns, businesses in Scotland have been abandoned by Treasury Ministers, who have written an open-ended blank cheque for businesses in England but have failed to give the same guarantee to firms in Scotland.
“A failure to bring forward proper financial support and to fix gaps in support will lead to businesses pulling down their shutters for good, mass job losses and households facing a devastating hit to their incomes.
“The SNP will continue to press the UK government for full support for Scottish businesses and jobs, but it’s clear that the only way to properly protect Scotland’s economy is to become an independent country.”
