In an urgent letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, today Stephen Morgan MP lobbied the Government for support for the self-employed who have been writing to the city MP as a result of the hardship caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a series of actions the Portsmouth South representative today lobbied government writing an urgent letter to the Chancellor.
The city MP said:
“There are 7,100 self-employed people in my constituency. Many are getting in touch with me desperately worried about making their rent, mortgage and other bill payments.
I appreciate your efforts to introduce a retention scheme for employees as announced on Friday.
However more and more self-employed people in my constituency are now asking me what help the Government is going to be put in place for them. Many of whom are being told by Ministers they cannot continue their work.
Some feel they have been abandoned and are being treated as second-class citizens”.
The self-employed already lack all of the legal protections of redundancy and other rights already in place to help protect employees, including those they employ themselves, from a sudden lack of income.
The Federation of Small Business has stated that the self-employed are also the most likely section of our nation’s workforce to suffer from a disability or health condition.
Stephen Morgan MP added:
“It would be perverse to leave the self-employed out of the new measures HM Treasury is putting in place to help those whose livelihoods are most disrupted by Covid-19.
The Government must now provide comparable support for the self-employed to end the uncertainty thousands face here in Portsmouth”.
In the letter the MP has asked for assurance that the Government is making plans and sought clarification on timescales.
