UK government under fire over #ForgottenFreelances
Johnson dodges questions about freelances without support at PMQs.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken to task during Prime Minsiter's Question Time in Parliament over the millions of freelances who have fallen through the cracks of the government's Covid-19 aid packages.
Labour leader Keir Starmer referred to Chris as self-employed photographer whose business had been devastated and who has been left without support for the past eight months. The Prime Minister's non answer would have done nothing to offer Chris any hope.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford also raised the issue saying, "The Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to lift a finger to help these families," and asked for Boris Johnson to urgently fix the gaps in UK Covid-19 support to help the three million people completely excluded.
"The Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to lift a finger to help these families."
— Tom French (@tomfrench85) November 11, 2020
🏴 SNP Westminster Leader @Ianblackford_MP also challenged Boris Johnson to urgently fix the gaps in UK Covid-19 support to help the 3 million people completely excluded #ExcludedUK @ExcludedUK pic.twitter.com/bMJBcRWagq
Pamela Morton, NUJ national freelance officer, said:
"The government must do something to redress the situation which is leaving freelances in a desperate place. The Prime Minister failed to answer the questions about their fate – he needs to act soon.
"The union continues to work with the TUC to seek a dialogue with the Chancellor, asking for changes to be made to the schemes."