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Tories and firms attack Brown's £500m jobless aid
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor13 Jan 2009
GORDON BROWN'S plans to counter the recession came under fire from business and the Tories today as thousands of redundancies coincided with Labour's "jobs summit".
The Prime Minister told an audience of 150 business, union and charity leaders at the Science Museum that the Government would spend an extra £500 million to help those threatened with unemployment.
He predicted that the package - which includes paying firms "golden hellos" of up to £2,500 to employ those who have been on the dole for over six months - would help more than half a million people into jobs or training in the next two years.
Mr Brown pledged that those thrown out of work would not be "abandoned" by ministers. "We estimate that with this additional financial support we will be able to help 500,000 people into work or work-focused training over the next two years," he said.
He also denied the £12 billion VAT cut was not working, pointing out that it was too early to see the expected £275 annual cut in consumers' shopping bills.
But the Tories said that the news of job losses at logistics firm Wincanton, Land of Leather and frozen foods firm Findus overshadowed today's announcements. Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said: "The news is a further worrying sign that the Government's policies on the recession just aren't working. What the Government now needs to do is adopt our plans for a National Loan Guarantee Scheme to help existing businesses and to protect jobs."
David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, warned that the latest Government proposals would have only a limited impact.
"With unemployment rising fast and projected to rise by over a million, from what I am seeing companies are not recruiting so I am not sure at this stage in the economic cycle what the offer of a £2,500 grant to take on people is going to do," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "We have got to focus on retaining those skills within the business because once they've gone they've gone."
Steve Radley, chief economist at the Engineering Employers' Federation, said: "The main priority for manufacturers is to keep the skilled workforce they already have and maintain cash flow."
John Wright, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said 86 small firms were going out of business every day, highlighting the urgent need for extra help such as reductions in regulations and cuts in payroll taxes.
Reader views (26)
Another crackpot idea from Brown the Busted Flush. ALmost as bonkers as putting graduates into 'low paid internships.' That's all that a graduate wants to hear after putting in 3-4 years of hard slog to run up a £20k debt to start working life with!
- Paul, London, 13/01/2009 09:54
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The Tories don't like people going back in to work they are a nothing party.they would not come up the idea has them self.
- Andy, London, 13/01/2009 00:14
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And the Conservatives policy is...............?
As yes, Do Nothing.
- Andrew W1, London, 12/01/2009 19:32
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My vote is now firmly Tory. We have to firmly change how this country taxes itself and administers. Priorities have to change immediately to less state and better economics. Society has to be improved - crime fixed - and education has to be made much better.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 12/01/2009 18:36
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Taking someone on is a long-term investment. Other staff have to stop what they're doing to train the newcomers. Initially productivity will drop, not rise. Firms will take on staff when the need arises, not because Labour politicians are in a hole.
- Alan In Bow, London, 12/01/2009 17:49
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We all watch rolling news and bury our heads in our hands. We all listen to our politicians' feeble admissions and mop up strategies and wonder why it took them so long to notice we were well and truly up the creek without a paddle. And I'm sure that we all wonder where a string of national and international disasters are going to end. Personally I am beginning to think the time has come to talk up our great city and encourage our government in its attempts (however feeble) at resolving this crisis. The time will come to evaluate and pass judgement, but i wonder if it is now.
- Amy Scott, London, 12/01/2009 17:10
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As has been written and worth repeating - Mickey Mouse has a Gordon Brown watch
- Tony Gee, London, 12/01/2009 16:47
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Gordon Brown should go he has no clue. With him everybody would depend on the big mighty (not! as bankrupt) state...
- Pat, London, N1, 12/01/2009 16:47
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A policy that will require a new army of underused civil servants to administer. There is no end to the piously announced folly. Absolutely nobody who is not on the gravy train is fooled by this depressing passage to destruction.
- Tim Holden, exeter, 12/01/2009 16:31
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Does Mcbroon have financial advisers or are all these hairbrained ideas his own?It is becoming clearer by the day that he , his chancellor and cabinet can have had no business experience.How much more debt can he create and what further damage can he do to this country before we can get rid ofhim.?
- Ian Glen., Durham. England., 12/01/2009 16:28
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Having returned after 30 years working abroad in USA and China as owner of a business I find it disgusting that a man such as our PM has the audacity to lead this country into a situation that we are now experiencing.Lets not forget one very important factor and it is the same man who was Chancellor and his policies(which incidendently business people knew would fail)which has created a great deal of todays situation.Borrowing money such he is at present will without doubt leave this country in a great debt that will take at least 10 years or more to repay. What should be happening is for the Govt.and Business to get talking on how to remedy the situation instead of the PM speaking to other Cabinet Ministers and going it alone.
What 2500 pound will do is laugable,for the simple reason if orders are not forthcoming why should businesses take on further overheads.This country in many peoples eyes is a laughing stock to the world business people,wake up Mr PM you are living in a dream
world,and causing nightmares for the rest the population.
It has been said in the past that when the PM has his own ideas ,he has never listened to advise and always done it his way,well doing it your way now is causing this country tremendous harm.Your ideas are not working so before it is tooo late start speaking to people in business who have their finger on the pulse
- Douglas, BARNET, 12/01/2009 16:28
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I heard Gordon Brown on the radio today emphasising the value of the VAT reduction in putting more money in people's pockets. He reckons the average family will have £250 a year more of their own money to spend. Well whoopee!I bet it doesn't anywhere near cover the taxes he plans to raise.
Equally his unemployment proposals, with the ludicrous "golden hello", avoids addressing the real needs of employers - more liquidity and access to credit. It almost seems Gordon wants to maximise unemnployment so he can busily "help" us in the most bureaucratic way possible.
- James Elliott, Eastbourne UK, 12/01/2009 15:59
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This is a pointless waste of public money.
The reason that such people are in long term unemployment, generally speaking, is their appallingly low level of skills - and that includes literacy and numeracy.
Such people will always be the first to be sacrificed in an economic downturn. Get used to it. Government please - just get out of the way, stay out of the way and let business get on with business. By all means regulate sensibly but don't try and interfere with nature. You will INEVITABLY make things worse.
- Christopher Price, Sidcup, England, 12/01/2009 15:10
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The idea is to train people up to serve soup to the starving!
- R King, UK, 12/01/2009 14:44
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Hiding behind Obama won't help u Mr Brown-standing next to the bank soesn't make you rich, so stop the similes...
- A Moreno, Luxembourg, 12/01/2009 14:16
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just wondering what comes after clutching at straws?
- Christopher Paul, High Wycombe, Bucks, 12/01/2009 14:08
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I feel horrible to take a cynical view but in my simple way of looking at it is, this is the tail wagging the dog. If an employer has no orders or his business about to collapse or the economic outlook is terrible, why would he take on extra staff and all the red tape that involves, such as minimum wage, holiday and maternity leave, pension contributions etcetc, all for £2500 and then have to pay redundancy if things go wrong. I am sure most employers are worried about not laying off existing employees. Hiring is best left to economic forces and not taxpayers subsidies, which wont work anyway. I dont know where Brown learnt his economics but it sounds like he would make a good Mayor of Las Vegas. Spin the wheel one more time.
- Bondy, london, 12/01/2009 13:36
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My local job centre via their training programme (new deal I think), are sending people to charity shops. Their argument is that it helps people to develop skills which are useful in later employment. Yes, I agree to an extent. While the unemployed are attending this "course" they are not counted as unemployed. It's just another way to fiddle the jobless figures. My local training provider uses unemployed people to partly run their courses. The only people benefiting from this in my view are the training providers ££££££££. Just wish I had thought of it.
- Chris Smith, Rochester, 12/01/2009 13:34
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I think it's a daft policy myself. So does Labour Minister Tony McNulty. He said it was 'desperate and incoherent' in his press release on the 11th November...mind you that was when it was originally proposed by David Cameron. Now that Crash McBroon has simply stolen the idea lock stock and barrel maybe Mr McNulty now thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread?
Nu Liers- desperate and incoherent - in their own words!
Over to you Keith and the only other Labour supporter in the country.....
- Ethan Edwards, UK, 12/01/2009 13:15
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OK so what jobs are the re-trained going to be doing. It all sounds good but someone please tell me where the vacancies are.
- Robert Thornton, malaga spain, 12/01/2009 12:34
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The long term jobless are unemployable and he knows this.Ironically they vote Labour too.
- Steve, London, 12/01/2009 12:10
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What? Most of the long term jobless are simply shiftless layabouts and trying to get them into work is like trying to drink an ocean, what is this man on about?
- Bob, Cheam, 12/01/2009 11:56
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So I lose my job this week, straight down the job centre, see a job I fancy, go for the interview!
Question: Who gets the job? Me or the guy who has two and a half grand in his back pocket to give to the employer!
Might as well put my feet up for six months.
- Tim, Wales., 12/01/2009 11:33
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I fail to see how throwing more money at the overgrown state machine is going to help? We need to become more efficient and quickly get rid of all these overpaid state consultants!
- Steveo, Islington, London, 12/01/2009 11:26
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Handing out more money does not work! We are all indebted as it is. I think a lot of structural things have to take place: less state bureaucracy and much less excessive taxation. Probably not something that Gordon Brown can help us with...
- Georgie, London NW1, 12/01/2009 11:09
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Absolutely ridiculous....
- Teddy, Islington, London, 12/01/2009 10:51
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