Chancellor must help refire city’s economy
London’s business leaders have called for a clear plan from the Government to help refire the capital’s economy. It comes after much confusion from ministers over the metrics underpinning the UK’s exit from lockdown.
This newspaper has repeatedly called for clarity from the Government over its lockdown exit strategy, without which businesses are unable to plan for even the near future.
A report today from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change is the latest to ask for such a strategy, as well as a numerical link between the pandemic and the relaxation of restrictions.
It comes as the leaders of groups representing more than 6,000 businesses, including Fortnum & Mason and Heathrow Airport, have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak to set out the damage that the pandemic has wreaked on the capital.
London has been hit disproportionately. Our city is more reliant on the things that Covid-19 has crushed — commuters, tourism and the hospitality sector.
There are predictions that the Budget on March 3 will be focused on retaining so-called ‘Blue Wall’ seats, situated in the towns and cities of the Midlands, Yorkshire and north-east Wales.
The Standard sees no contradiction in being the newspaper of London and a firm supporter of levelling up — a strong economy across all of Britain benefits all.
What we object to is levelling down. As we reported last week, signs of this include Gavin Williamson imposing cuts of £64 million to London’s higher education institutions.
Notwithstanding the strange politics of such a move — the Tories hold 21 seats in the capital. It is bad economics. London remains the engine of the British economy, and our country’s recovery depends on it.
The capital has seen the fastest rise in unemployment of any region in Britain over the course of the pandemic, and so far this year, footfall in the West End is down 88 per cent on 2020.
That is why we continue to support the call by London’s business leaders to extend the furlough scheme and maintain the business rates holiday and VAT relief scheme.
Britain needs a government that is loud and proud about its support for London, and recognises the critical role our city plays in the British, and indeed global, economy.
