The Labour Party is calling on the government to support the creation of 400,000 jobs, under what the party calls 'Build it in Britain'.
The Labour Party is calling on the government to support the creation of 400,000 jobs, under what the party calls 'Build it in Britain'.
As part of the initiative, the Labour Party would like to see the job investment in the manufacturing sector, through a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
Moreover, as part of a drive towards a clean economy, the Labour party is calling for an economic recovery that will deliver high-skilled jobs across the UK.
It is also calling for the low-carbon infrastructure of the future to be built in Britain.
According to the party, its calls follow extensive consultation with almost 2,000 businesses, trade unions and other stakeholders on what a credible green recovery should look like.
Furthermore, the consultation outlined that the government should recover jobs, retrain workers, and rebuild business by creating a National Investment Bank focused on green investment
Franz Doerr, chief executive of flatfair, said: “Britain has not forgotten Boris Johnson’s pledge to ‘Build, Build, Build’, so the government must now put its money where its mouth is and spearhead the creation of hundreds of thousands of new, coronavirus-proof jobs.
“Furlough, sadly, is set to serve only as a sticking plaster for many workers who will ultimately find themselves out of a job come the scheme’s end.
“Investing in a wave of green and secure jobs, however, will turbocharge Britain’s post-pandemic recovery — placing all of our eggs in one basket via the Job Retention Scheme will only postpone an inevitable avalanche of unemployment.
“Creating new, sustainable jobs will also stave off a potential crisis in the rental market, ensuring that tenants are able to keep up with their payments while preventing mountains of debt from piling up at the feet of landlords.
“In addition to prioritising careers in manufacturing and construction, the government must also lend its support to the tech sector. Throughout the pandemic, technology has played an integral role in keeping us connected and much more.”
Mary-Anne Bowring, group managing director at Ringley, added:“While less eye-catching than multi-billion pound promises to green our energy network through new innovative technologies, pledges to expand energy efficiency and retrofitting programmes for housing will be just as important to meeting our net-zero goals.
“However the focus needs to be much wider than simply social housing. The UK has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe, and this is an even greater issue in the private rented sector.
“While part of the answer is encouraging the supply of quality new-build homes that are more energy efficient, retrofitting existing homes must also be part of the solution.
“Beyond providing subsidies for homeowners and landlords to upgrade their properties, another policy lever the government could pull is to cut or abolish VAT on retrofit projects, which currently stands at 20%.”
