'Too little, too late' - McMahon's reaction to Winter Economic Plan pledges

Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has reacted with some dismay to yesterday’s Winter Economic Plan announcement.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the government’s plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months.

Central to the plan is a new Job Support Scheme and extension of Self Employment Income Support Scheme, while over one million businesses will get flexibilities to help pay back loans.

However, Mr McMahon has insisted the plan just doesn't go far enough for local people.

He said: “While this statement is a welcome U-turn by the government, they have finally realised that ending the furlough scheme in October without a replacement would be incredibly damaging.

“I do worry though that this is too little, too late.

"Throughout the crisis the government has acted after it should have.

"We were late to lockdown, late on mass testing and they were late to bring us a contact tracing app.

“This scheme does nothing for the thousands of people in Oldham West and Royton who have already lost their jobs due to the governments slow response.

"Where is the Retraining Strategy to help those people?

“It does nothing for all those excluded from the original Job Retention Scheme or the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.

"And I’m not convinced that it will help that many firms keep people employed.

"The governments definition of ‘viable’ jobs seems to be very different from most of ours.

“The devil is always in the detail and the Chancellor failed to acknowledge that there are some sectors that cannot operate on a part-time basis at the moment, and neither did he acknowledge those businesses in areas of local lockdowns and how they’re expected to operate at the moment.

“Labour is calling for the government to go further than it did yesterday and urging it to do all it can to recover jobs, retrain workers and rebuild Britain.

"It’s time to get a grip on Test, Trace and Isolate and recognise that it’s failings are bad for our health and our economy.”

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.