This is what Rishi Sunak should include in his recovery plan if the UK wants to avoid disaster

While the government’s failures in responding to the coronavirus crisis are clear for all to see, the story of the recovery is yet to be written

If ever there is an occasion that calls for bold economic action, it is now. The UK stands on the brink of the worst economic downturn for a generation, making even the financial crash of 2008 seem like a blip. Having already clocked up one of the worst records for fatalities from this pandemic, we are now set to be the worst hit economy in the G7.

With this as the setting, Boris Johnson’s great speech on his economic strategy to kickstart the economy could hardly have been more urgent. And yet what we heard on Tuesday in Dudley was just another melange of clumsy metaphors, bad jokes and half-baked ideas; a speech in search of a plan.

As our neighbours compose serious blueprints for investing hundreds of billions to support jobs and help transition their economies, the best our government could muster was the re-announcement of £5bn worth of spending on roads and school improvements. If this is our New Deal, we are in serious trouble.

If urging the public to clap for “financiers” was the notable low point of the speech, then the most hopeful moment was undoubtedly the prime minister’s promise that his chancellor will be describing more detail on the government’s recovery package next week. Indeed “wait for Rishi” was the response to almost every plea for detail that followed the speech. For tens of thousands of Prospect union members and millions of workers across the country, the content of the chancellor’s statement next week could be the difference between stability and disaster. So what would a plan that matches the scale of the challenge actually look like?

First, the government must support workers and sectors that are still unable to operate properly because of the pandemic. I have written before about the injustice faced by the millions of freelancers and other workers who were left out of government income support schemes. This injustice has not gone away, and every month that goes by pushes these workers closer to the brink. There needs to be an urgent rescue package for these workers and fast, they have waited for Rishi for long enough.

Similarly, sectors such as theatre that are unable to safely reopen need government support to avoid closure and the losses of thousands of jobs. The institutions are part of our national cultural infrastructure, an area in which we are genuinely world leading, and it would simply be an act of gross negligence to allow these beacons of our national life to go under. I am sure that the prime minister who idolises Shakespeare doesn’t want to preside over the death of our arts sector, but this is where we are headed without government intervention. A combined package is needed, with the furlough scheme extended on a sectoral basis and bespoke support for those industries hit the hardest.

But any economic stimulus package has to look forward as well as backwards. This isn’t just about preserving what we have, but about using the opportunity of large-scale government investment to help our economy transition towards the jobs and industries of the future. Here the prime minister was right to say that we need to “build back better, build back greener, build back faster”.

However, aside from a vague ambition to invent the world’s first zero carbon long-haul passenger plane, there was precious little detail as to what this looks like. By contrast, France has announced a 15bn Euro net zero transition package and Germany has put 40bn Euros behind a new green investment strategy.

A government that was serious about “building back greener” has no shortage of options when it comes to actions it could take. It could increase investment in a massive home insulation programme and accelerate the roll-out of electric vehicles. It could give the green light to a next generation of nuclear power stations in Suffolk, Cumbria, and North Wales, creating millions of jobs and helping to “level up” the economy. It could invest in our natural environment by boosting our workforce of environmental regulators, biodiversity experts, and tree-planters. And it would set up a Just Transition Commission, as they have in Scotland, to help so that workers, businesses and government can all manage the process of moving to a low-carbon economy. All of these will be necessary at some point in the coming decades if we are to meet net zero by 2050. Acting sooner rather than later is a win-win for our environment and our economy.

And let’s not forget that unions were “partners” in addressing the pandemic, so we must have that same voice in the recovery.

This government is going to be defined by its handling of this pandemic and its economic aftermath, and while the failures in the initial response are clear for all to see, the story of the recovery is yet to be written. It is no surprise that the most successful element of the government response so far, the Job Retention Scheme, is the one that was designed in collaboration with businesses and trade unions. Embracing this approach may not come naturally to this government, but if the ambition really is a New Deal to rival Roosevelt, then this is the only way to make it a reality. I suppose we will all have to wait for Rishi to find out.

Mike Clancy is general secretary of Prospect union.