Rishi Sunak promises gradual end to coronavirus wage subsidies as concerns grow

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The chancellor Rishi Sunak has held talks with nine of Britain’s union leaders to try to reassure them plans to phase out the government’s furlough scheme will be gradual and minimise the impact on unemployment.

In the run-up to an announcement next week about the future of the wage subsidy scheme, Sunak sought to dampen union concerns that the coronavirus support package would be brought to an abrupt halt at the end of June.

The Treasury cannot afford to spend £10bn a month indefinitely, but a cliff-edge end to Covid-19 wage subsidies is not the answer

What’s the safest way for Rishi Sunak to wind down his wage-support furlough scheme? Well, start by finding the correct language. The imagery in the current political talk about “weaning” businesses off an “addiction” is absurd.

When the chancellor introduced the coronavirus job retention scheme on 20 March, he said it was to “protect, as far as possible, people’s jobs and incomes”. There will be trouble if, less than two months later and with lockdown still in place, companies and their workers are portrayed as needy infants or addicts who should know better.