Abrahams attacks government Covid policy after unemployment rise

Debbie Abrahams MP

MP Debbie Abrahams has blamed the Government's "incompetence and indecision" after a rise in the unemployment figures for the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency.

Data released today shows there were 2,705 more people claiming unemployment support in December, compared to March, before the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the UK

Records also show that the young are particularly affected, with 1,235 claimants aged 18-24 in December, compared to 670 in March.

In total 6,040 people were claiming unemployment social security support in the constituency in December -  9.2% of which were 16-64 year olds,  compared with 6.3% across the UK as a whole.
 
Responding to the data, Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: “Britain had the worst recession of any major economy because of this Government’s incompetence and indecision.
 
“Redundancies have reached a record high while unemployment continues to rise, yet the Government’s £2 billion Kickstart scheme has created just 2,000 jobs.
 
“The Government must act urgently to secure our economy, protect jobs and get Britain back on the path to recovery, including cancelling the pending cut to Universal Credit and council tax hike.
 
"As we fight to build back better, we must make sure that we build back with quality, well paid jobs, providing training to help with skills development where needed.”

In the Oldham West and Royton constituency, the number of claimants has risen by 2840 since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

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