PRIME MINISTER ANDY BURNHAM PLEDGES TO PUT THE CARE OF PEOPLE AT THE HEART OF GOVERNMENT: EXCLUDEDUK SAYS THAT MUST INCLUDE THE 3.8 MILLION
ExcludedUK welcomes the new Prime Minister’s promise to bring back hope, but says recognition, accountability and justice are needed for those abandoned during the pandemic
ExcludedUK has welcomed Andy Burnham’s first speech as Prime Minister and his commitment to put “the care of people at the heart” of his government.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street today, the new Prime Minister promised that his administration would act as a “circuit breaker for Britain”, bringing forward major political and economic change. He pledged to create a more collaborative style of politics, focused on solving problems rather than scoring points, and to carry power into “every postcode in the land.
For the estimated 3.8 million UK taxpayers excluded from parity of Covid-19 financial support, those words carry particular significance.
Andy Burnham has been ExcludedUK’s loudest and most consistent political champion since the campaign began. He has listened directly to affected taxpayers, publicly recognised the injustice they experienced and helped ensure their voices were heard when many others in positions of power looked away.
ExcludedUK now says that his arrival in Downing Street presents a historic opportunity to turn that longstanding support into meaningful government action.
Jennifer Griffiths, Head of Member Welfare at ExcludedUK, said:
“Andy Burnham has supported ExcludedUK from the beginning. He listened when others would not, spoke publicly about the injustice and gave our members hope at times when many felt completely abandoned by their own government.
“We warmly congratulate Andy on becoming Prime Minister.
“His promise to put the care of people at the heart of everything he does could not be more relevant to our community. The 3.8 million were taxpayers, workers, freelancers and business owners who followed the rules and did everything their government asked of them.
“Yet when they needed that government most, they were deliberately left out.”
“Investing in people’s success rather than paying for failure”
In his Downing Street address, Prime Minister Burnham said his government would build a more preventative state by “investing in people’s success rather than paying for failure”. He also promised greater mental health support, more council housing and urgent measures to help people facing the cost-of-living crisis.
ExcludedUK says this approach must include confronting the preventable human and economic harm caused by the design of the pandemic support schemes.
While employees received furlough and many established self-employed people received grants, millions of other taxpayers were excluded through rigid eligibility rules, arbitrary cut-off dates and failures to recognise how modern businesses and working arrangements operate.
Those affected included newly self-employed people, new starters, PAYE freelancers, company directors paid through dividends, annual PAYE directors, people on parental leave and businesses without rateable premises.
Many were forced to survive through savings, credit cards, overdrafts, tax debt and government-backed borrowing. Businesses closed, homes were lost and families were placed under intolerable pressure.
ExcludedUK is aware of at least 40 suicides linked to exclusion, while hundreds more have survived suicide attempts or required urgent mental health support. The organisation continues to support people living with the financial and psychological consequences more than six years later.
Jennifer continued:
“A preventative state must be willing to examine what happens when government policy fails to protect people.
“The harm experienced by ExcludedUK members was not inevitable. It was the consequence of political decisions and repeated refusals to correct schemes that Ministers knew were leaving millions without parity.
“Had those people received the same protection as their neighbours, colleagues and competitors, businesses could have survived, homes could have been saved, and lives may not have been lost.
“The new Prime Minister has spoken about investing in people rather than paying for failure. Addressing this continuing injustice would be a powerful first example of putting that principle into practice.”
A circuit breaker for Britain must break six years of political inaction
Prime Minister Burnham said his government would be a “circuit breaker” and promised a new political model based on collaboration and problem-solving.
ExcludedUK believes the treatment of those denied Covid support represents precisely the kind of longstanding failure that now requires a different approach.
For more than six years, affected taxpayers have been passed between government departments, subjected to repeated denials and told that nothing more could be done.
Their concerns have been raised through parliamentary debates, an All-Party Parliamentary Group, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and direct engagement with politicians from across the political spectrum. Yet no government has formally acknowledged the injustice or offered a credible route towards resolution.
Jennifer said:
“The excluded have spent six years trapped in a political system that repeatedly acknowledged their suffering but refused to act.
“If this government truly intends to replace point-scoring with problem-solving, this is an opportunity to prove it.
“We do not need another review designed to delay action or another Minister explaining why the original schemes were difficult to amend.
“We need honest engagement, acknowledgement of the harm and a practical route towards justice.”
Power in every postcode
The Prime Minister promised to take power out of Westminster and carry it into “every postcode in the land”, while building a new economy in which life’s essentials are placed under stronger public control and made more affordable.
ExcludedUK represents members throughout every nation and region of the United Kingdom.
The consequences of exclusion were felt in high streets, homes and communities across the country. Small businesses that had contributed to their local economies for years disappeared. Freelancers and sole traders lost established careers. Company directors who employed others received little or no support for themselves.
ExcludedUK says that economic renewal must include those businesses and workers who were sacrificed during the national emergency and have never been helped to recover.
“Andy has spoken about building a new economy and empowering every postcode,” Jennifer added.
“That new economy must include the entrepreneurs, directors, freelancers, sole traders, and individuals who were locked down by law but denied the financial protection given to others.
“They did not fail because their businesses were unviable. They were prevented from trading and then expected to absorb the entire cost personally.
“A government serious about supporting business cannot continue to ignore them.”
“Bring back hope”
Concluding his speech, Prime Minister Burnham called for a new sense of national unity, common purpose and positivity.
He said:
“Let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again, the moment we bring back hope.”
ExcludedUK says those words will resonate deeply with members who have spent more than six years waiting for recognition and justice.
At an ExcludedUK event in 2024, Burnham reassured members that “the public see you and the public support you”. He also committed to helping the campaign engage with the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and rebuild parliamentary support through the Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support APPG.
Jennifer said:
“Andy has given our community hope before. Today, as Prime Minister, he has the power to turn that hope into action.
“For ExcludedUK, bringing back hope means finally recognising what happened.
“It means listening to the bereaved families and those who survived suicide attempts.
“It means addressing the debts and losses that continue to destroy lives.
“It means ensuring that no future government can ever abandon millions of taxpayers during a national emergency again.
“Andy has been our champion outside Downing Street. We now need him to be our champion inside it.”
ExcludedUK calls for immediate engagement
ExcludedUK is requesting an early meeting with the Prime Minister and relevant members of his new government, alongside representatives of the Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support APPG.
The organisation’s principal asks remain:
- A formal government apology, recognising the injustice and providing assurance that such mass exclusion will never happen again.
- Parity of support for those denied fair and equal financial assistance.
- Acknowledgement of lost earnings, lost profits and consequential losses caused by exclusion.
ExcludedUK is also calling for:
- direct engagement with bereaved families and people who survived suicide attempts;
- recognition of the mental health consequences of exclusion;
- examination of continuing pandemic-related debt, including Bounce Back Loans;
- a credible route towards redress and practical support;
- and safeguards ensuring that future emergency schemes protect taxpayers regardless of employment status or business structure.
Jennifer concluded:
“The Prime Minister has asked the country to pull with him and help build a new sense of unity and common purpose.
“ExcludedUK is ready to work constructively with his government.
“We have always respected Andy Burnham because he listened, understood and stood with us.
“Now is the moment to complete that journey.
“Prime Minister, put the care of the excluded at the heart of government.
“Break the cycle of delay and denial.
“Bring back the hope.
“Deliver justice for the 3.8 million.
“We are not going away. We are relentless.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
ExcludedUK is a grassroots, volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation established in May 2020 to represent approximately 3.8 million UK taxpayers excluded from parity of Government Covid-19 financial support.
The campaign represents more than 20 categories of affected taxpayers, including newly self-employed people, new starters, PAYE freelancers, company directors, sole traders, people on parental leave and businesses that were ineligible for grants or other forms of government financial support.
ExcludedUK provides campaigning, peer support, welfare assistance and mental health support to members who continue to experience the effects of exclusion.
Media enquiries: admin@excludeduk.org
Website: www.excludeduk.org
#ExcludedUK #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless
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