Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on Help for the Self-Employed

The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business Secretary, on 23 October 2020.

The promise of doing ‘whatever it takes’ to protect workers is a distant memory. Despite public health restrictions tightening and many sectors being shut, Ministers are leaving self-employed people in the lurch.

Almost half a million self-employed people work in industries either partially or fully closed. They’re in desperately choppy waters with many deeply worried about their future.

Yet Ministers are taking away their life raft and leaving them to sink or swim. That’s not just callous, but economically wrong. These are our country’s artists and performers, and people in our vibrant tourism, sports, cultural and hospitality sectors.

The Business Secretary must stand up for them and ensure they are given a fair deal.