UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a new economic support package for the UK as the country prepares for a second lockdown.
Rishi Sunak
The new scheme is designed to address criticisms levied at the replacement furlough system, particularly in that it supposedly favours people living in southern England.
The reintroduction of the furlough scheme - which would involve the government covering up to 80% of someone's wages, up to a maximum of £2500 per month - angered many business people and politicians across northern England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where strict lockdown measures have been put in place.
These areas have received comparatively little support throughout the pandemic and have called for the chancellor to change this.
The Treasury has also not been transparent about whether or not the UK's new furlough scheme, set to expire on December 2, would be available to the devolved parts of the UK.
The UK as a whole has been hit hard by the pandemic, and the government will be cautious to allow for the same mistakes again.
Sunak's 'eat out to help out' scheme reduced inflation through the pandemic but has been linked with an increase in cases as the first lockdown eased
Sunak is due to provide a situation report in the Commons on Thursday, including how he will address what the government consider to be the "constitutional and legal issues" raised by developing an income support scheme offering varying levels of support.
Welsh officials are furious with the Johnson government for ignoring their pleas for a two-week lockdown as well as their ideas for a replacement stimulus package.
This caused hundreds of thousands of workers to resort to taking lower wages and even redundancies to survive.
Labour leader Kier Starmer has also accused the conservative government of incompetence and complacency with imposing another lockdown.
At the CBI conference, Mr Starmer said: “One of the things I’ve learnt from this crisis is that it exposes leadership like nothing else.
“On that count, the prime minister and the chancellor have failed. They failed to learn. They failed to listen. And they failed to lead. The result is tragic – but all too predictable.”
“Make no mistake, the chancellor’s name is all over this.
He added: “His decision to block a circuit-breaker, to dismiss it as a ‘blunt instrument’ and to pretend that you can protect the economy without controlling the virus, will now mean that businesses have to close for longer, more people will lose their jobs, and the public finances will be worse than they needed to be.”
Several British sectors have been calling for aid during the pandemic, with some, particularly smaller companies, being threatened with having to go out of business owing to reduced demand during the pandemic.
It is currently unknown how the British automotive and aerospace sectors will cope with a second lockdown, although many companies are predicting heavy losses.
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