Life after lockdown; time for Yorkshire to be prepared – The Yorkshire Post says

This is uncharted territory for politicians, businesses and families – no ready-made blueprint guarantees both the health and wealth of all.

And, as CBI business leaders from Yorkshire stress, impatience must not be confused with recklessness – even when new research suggests that the lockdown is costing the region £170m a day.

As such, the relaxation of the lockdown will have to be gradual, and mindful of the health of staff and customers alike, if a second shutdown is to be avoided.

But – and this is the key – the time is right for firms to consider how best to adapt to these new circumstances, and prepare to resume trading, in a responsible way which allows some economic activity. It will help to safeguard jobs, and provide a stimulus to workers left in limbo.

However there will be no one-size-fits-all solution. Yet a degree of onus – and trust – has to be placed on employers after it was confirmed that 6.3 million workers are having up to 80 per cent of their salaries paid for by the Treasury at a cost of £8bn to the taxpayer.

As Chancellor Rishi Sunak intimated, the long-term ‘furloughing’ of staff is not sustainable, or viable, as Boris Johnson prepares to address the nation on his plan to end the lockdown.

But with many people uneasy about any imminent return to work, and the UK death toll approaching 30,000, the stakes have never been higher if this health tragedy is not to be followed by an even greater economic catastrophe.

That is why firms here should be looking to the future – and, specifically, how Yorkshire companies can innovate and support each other to protect the county’s health, wellbeing and, ultimately, wealth. In this respect, it has never been more important for Yorkshire to both help itself and also make the most of its diverse economy.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

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Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor