Labour warns Rishi Sunak 'to get a grip' ahead of looming jobs crisis as furlourgh ends

Labour has accused the Richmond MP of failing to support businesses and communities most at risk from a second wave, with the Government’s furlough scheme due to expire at the end of the month.

New analysis by Labour says in Yorkshire 76,000 people still on furlough are now living under localised restrictions, with another 33,000 in towns or cities on the national watch list.

It suggests the jobs of 31,000 people in Leeds, 19,000 in Bradford and 17,000 in Kirklees are among the 1m at risk in the country.

Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said Labour had urged the Chancellor to introduce a wage support scheme that incentivised employers to keep more staff on, but had been ignored.

She said Britain risked “an unemployment crisis greater than we have seen in decades – and Rishi Sunak’s name will be all over it”.

Yesterday it emerged that Britain’s biggest cinema chain Cineworld is set to close all its 128 theatres, putting up to 5,500 jobs at risk.

The blow came ahead of the announcement of a new initiative to help hundreds of thousands of jobseekers who have been without work for three months because of the virus crisis.

Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS), backed by a £238 million investment, will offer specialist advice on how people can move into growing sectors, as well as CV and interview coaching.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Therese Coffey said it would boost the prospects of more than 250,000 people.

She said: “This scheme will help those left out of work as a result of Covid-19, and is one strand of our wider Plan for Jobs which will also support young people on to the jobs ladder through Kickstart, offer the training needed to pivot into new roles through our Sector Based Work Academy Programme and prepare people for getting back into work.”

Mr Sunak said the Government’s unprecedented support had protected millions, but he had always made clear that not every job could be saved.

He said JETS would “provide fresh opportunities to those that have sadly lost their jobs, to ensure that nobody is left without hope.”

The new Job Support Scheme, which replaces furlough from November 1, will require both the government and firms to top up workers’ wages, covering up to two-thirds of their hours for the next six months.

But it only supports “viable” jobs, where employees can work at least third of their normal hours, which Labour says “shuts out” industries including sports venues and theatres.

Meanwhile Boris Johnson warned that while he hopes for a turnaround by Christmas, there could be “bumpy months ahead”.

Mr Johnson, who said rumours he was suffering from “long-Covid” were “balderdash”, said: “This could be a very tough winter for all of us - we’ve got to face that fact.”

Measures such as the 10pm curfew have fuelled Tory resentment over restrictions which have caused widespread economic damage. Mr Johnson said: “I’m a freedom-loving Tory. I don’t want to have to impose measures like this, are you crazy?

“This is the last thing we want to do. But I also have to save life. And that’s our priority.”

It comes as research by the Health Foundation found some of Britain’s poorest communities, including Barnsley and Middlesbrough, have experienced higher Covid-19 death rates and are also showing signs of financial hardship,