BRADFORD East MP Imran Hussain has hit out at Chancellor Rishi Sunak's economic update.

He claimed it lacks imagination and ambition and that "thousands of jobs in Bradford are at risk because of his inaction". 

Mr Hussain said: “We are facing one of the biggest economic crises since the Great Depression, yet the Chancellor failed to rise to the occasion.

"He failed to match the scale of the challenge with enough imagination or ambition, and thousands of jobs in Bradford remain at risk because of his inaction.

“Measures to increase youth employment and encourage those on furlough to return are a step in the right direction, yet the decision to end the job retention scheme for all workers in October is a mistake.

"Doing so will leave firms in sectors of the economy that have been hardest hit and with the steepest hill to climb to recovery without the support that they need to keep people in work."

Mr Hussain added: “Many of the measures he did unveil will also mean nothing to those living on the edge who are already in low-paid and precarious employment.

"Those struggling to put food on the table will not see the benefit of dine out discounts and neither will those worrying about the future of their job, and the discount will do nothing to help troubled retail stores on our high streets.

“The Chancellor is gambling that he can put off decisions until a full budget in the Autumn but for many jobs, action then will be far too late. He must ditch his ‘one size fits all’ approach to support in favour of one tailored to the specific challenges faced by each sector of the economy, and he must do more to boost pay for those on low and middle incomes who are the real drivers of growth.”