Wed 13 May 2020, 11:54 AM | Posted by editor
LETTER from Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot Labour Party member
Panorama’s investigative reporter, Bronagh Munro, interviewed a number of people who are suffering from the economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Munro interviewed Derek Taylor, who owns a plant nursery he started 36 years ago and which has grown. His principal customer was the National Trust. With one phone call, he says, his business has collapsed. The coronacrisis has ruined his world. His only consolation has been the help of volunteers who deliver his plants to local residents for free. Many have sent in donations, which means that the business is receiving some cash, the one positive thing to emerge from the crisis.
Munro then interviewed a couple who own a small Leeds engineering firm, which has been in business for 30 years and supplies specialist equipment for the construction industry. Orders have stopped and along with seven and a half million others, staff has been furloughed. The company still has to pay for components and sought a loan from the bank. Initially, the bank refused, but extra cash from the state has helped the business stay afloat, for now at least.
Key worker might still be ‘disposable’
The next to be interviewed was a guy who works as a medical courier. All the laboratories have closed, except for the one the testing for Covid 19. Alex Marshall, described as a “key worker”, told the programme that he had little choice but work because he has a family to feed and rent to pay. Despite being a key worker, he thought he would be “disposable” when the pandemic is over.
The Government has announced the extension of the furlough scheme to prevent mass redundancies, but now they expect employers to contribute, although as yet they haven’t said how. One thing is clear, the cost of shoring up the economy will far exceed the cost of the financial crises in 2008.
Finally, Munro examined the human cost of this crisis. She visited a funeral directors’ in Essex, which deals with three local authorities and receives around 100 bodies a week. Since coronavirus, this number has increased substantially. One day they picked up 94 bodies.
Relaxation driven by economic considerations
This appears to confirm the view that the Government have consistently under-reported the number of deaths caused by Covid-19. In my opinion, the Government are lifting the lockdown measures too soon. They are driven by economic reasons rather than public health. It may come back to bit them.
The coronacrisis has ushered in the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression and the largest public health crises in a hundred years. The labour movement must demand a major programme of public works to prevent a return of mass unemployment. Nationalise the major corporations that announce large scale redundancies. Finally, Labour should adopt the demand that there should be work or full maintenance for those that are unable to secure full-time employment.
