Covid-19

Mel Stride Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The comparisons with other European countries are actually illuminating, because the furlough scheme is far more generous than that of either Germany or France, or virtually any other country in Europe. What we will continue to do, as I have said repeatedly to the House, is to put our arms around the workers of this country to make sure that we help people throughout the crisis, but also, as I said before, to do everything we can to keep our economy moving and keep people in work wherever we can.

[Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con) [V]]

I very much welcome the balanced and proportionate set of measures that my right hon. Friend has put together and recognise that these are very finely balanced and very difficult decisions for him to take. But lockdowns, as I think he recognises, destroy jobs and also personal wellbeing. The fact that lockdowns have damaged our economy means that in the years ahead a smaller economy will probably have serious impacts on the health of millions of people up and down our country. Does he recognise that, yes, we should listen very carefully to the epidemiologists, but we must also listen very carefully to the Treasury, to businesses and to economists?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is spot on. That is why we have to take action now to avoid the risk of having to take more drastic action later on that would do greater economic damage. That is the key point of what we are doing today.