Chancellor’s crocodile tears are too little to late

Following a disappointing budget for our members that has left huge gaps in support for creative freelancers the Chancellor has today claimed in a podcast interview he regrets that freelancers “feel” as though they haven’t been helped.

Responding to the Chancellor’s interview with Jack Blanchard on the Politico Westminster Insider podcast today, head of Bectu, Philippa Childs said:

“It is utterly offensive for the Chancellor to suggest that his biggest regret is that excluded freelancers “feel they haven’t been helped”, it is not a feeling it is a cold hard fact.

“The Chancellor has had numerous opportunities to put this right and solutions have been presented to him, he has made a political choice to ignore them – these crocodile tears are too little too late for thousands of freelancers who have had nothing and those who have already given up on self-employment.

“If the Chancellor really wants to learn lessons then he should immediately announce a full inquiry into the exclusions from support, and a strategy for supporting the self-employed bounce back from this crisis.”