2hago 1431 GMT
Sunak says he was under pressure from members of the opposition (Labour
at the time) and from some finance ministers and leaders of the devolved
administrations, as well as unions (like the TUC), to keep the Coronavirus job
retention scheme (furlough) for longer than he did.
The former chancellor said these figures were telling him that winding down
the furlough scheme was too “premature” as he faced criticism for focusing
too much on “balancing the books”.
He said the Treasury’s approach was “about right” as when the scheme
ended there was not a big spike in unemployment as some people had feared
(the furlough scheme applied from 1 March 2020 and ended on 30 September
2021).
“If this thing happens again, it’s not obvious to me that there’s some learning
from that period that would make it easier for someone in my position to
make that balance,” Sunak said.
Tories would rather crash the Economy than give Government money to people they haven't been bought dinner by.
Michelle Mone didn't have any problems, did she?
#COVID19 #COVIDInquiryUK #UKPOL #UKPOLITICS #RishiSunak