On 9 December, Munira Wilson, LibDem MP challenged the government to help those 3 million people
who have lost their income due to Covid and are getting no help. The government has refused saying it
is too difficult to do so. This includes freelance workers in entertainment, small businesses that started
just before the pandemic hit and many others caught by the complicated criteria attached to government
aid. Many have not been able to claim Universal Credit and even those who get it find they cannot live on
it. Some have resorted to selling their houses in order to feed their families and tragically, 8 people have
committed suicide as a direct result of their unexpected situation.
LibDem MP Christine Jardine raised this in Parliament on 23 and 25 November and government seems
determined not to respond. Way back when the chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his support scheme,
LibDem MP Jamie Stone identified that millions of workers would miss out and started an all-party
Parliamentary Group to campaign for changes.
What an uncaring government we now have !!
Nigel Jones (Newcastle under Lyme Liberal Democrats)