UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government of letting young people down by failing to support hundreds of thousands of people who have been made redundant throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2021) UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government of letting young people down by failing to support hundreds of thousands of people who have been made redundant throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a media briefing that saw Starmer lay out his economic plans ahead of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's budget in March, the Labour leader said that the government's Kickstart job scheme, which gives young people a six-month job with a local employer paid by the government, was insufficient.
"We'd also fix the gaping holes in the government's Kickstart jobs scheme. It really does show how badly this government has let people down, young people down, that on average, 292 young people have become unemployed every day, but the government's flagship scheme only supports 13 jobs a day. That's one job supported for every 22 jobs lost by young people," Starmer said.
The leader of the opposition also urged the government not to increase taxes on businesses and families.
"This is no time for a second wave of austerity. This is no time for tax rises on businesses or families. That would waste the sacrifices of the last year and it would choke off our recovery," Starmer remarked.
Sunak is expected to present his spring budget to the House of Commons on March 3. The chancellor announced this past Friday that the UK's GDP fell by a record 9.9 percent in 2020 as a result of the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.�
