(drum beats)
(paper scratching)
- Temporary.
Timely.
And targeted.
Those were the words used to describe our furlough scheme,
on March 11th, that was introduced
by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.
Temporary, timely and targeted.
And those are lies, lies and lies.
Let's look at those.
First of all, was it targeted?
Well actually, it wasn't.
Because no business had to qualify for the furlough scheme.
And when you dig down deep into it,
one million, currently furloughed workers now,
are in industries that were not affected whatsoever
by COVID and by the restrictions of social distancing.
Next, look at that not being temporary.
Because in a few days, the job retention scheme
is gonna turn into the job support scheme.
And when we see that happen,
we're gonna see that the handouts continue.
Now someone working one day a week
is going to be able to receive two-thirds of their salary.
And this all means one thing.
A gaping 40 billion pound hole in our budget.
40 billion pounds spent
and yet we still have one of the most sharpest rises
in unemployment in history.
And now 9% of those furloughed workers
are soon going to be unemployed.
And this all tells us one thing.
That handouts don't work.
Socialism doesn't work.
The only solution to this problem
and the myriad of other problems that we face
in our health services, our mental health,
with businesses shutting down forever
is to get London back to work.
And yet our politicians aren't talking about that.
Because we're lacking leadership.
We're lacking a proportional response to the virus,
and we're lacking science-based decision making.
And again, I am all for taking care of those
that are most vulnerable to be infected by this virus.
But let's let the young, and the strong,
and the capable get back to work.
Let's use science-based decisions,
where we don't lockdown our hospitality industry
that is responsible for only 3.3% of COVID transmissions,
according to Public Health England's own data.
Let's not lockdown our gyms in the north,
where I was speaking to Nick Whitcombe last week
when he said, "Brian, only 1.7% of transmissions
"are happening in gyms and yet they tried to lock me down."
Let's find ways of opening up our theatres,
of opening up our tourism business.
And that's why I've been talking to people
every single week on my show,
to try to find solutions.
And everyone I speak to says,
"Brian, what are our politicians doing?
"They seem to wake up and do the exact opposite
"of what is gonna help this city."
I just took a taxi home.
A black cab driver named Scott and he says,
"Brian, I feel like the mayor wakes up everyday
"and says, "How can I screw this city up?"
And I've given up trying to understand
what goes on with this current crop of politicians,
with their vested interest and their careers politics,
because they seem to be doing the opposite.
Our current mayor, crusaded for the lockdown.
Even though, most boroughs in London,
the ones south of the River,
still don't even hit the 100 cases per 100,000 people
that would qualify.
And yet he says, "We all go as one."
We all go into bankruptcy as one.
We all lose our livelihoods as one.
We all tax our mental health as one.
And I've had enough.
And that's why I've decided,
I must stand for mayor of London.
And that's why my first policy
will be getting London back to work.
We have the greatest city in the world.
But we need someone to lead from the front,
and get people back in this city
and working in a safe way.
We need to tell the world that we can do this safely.
We need to encourage people to come back into this city,
and get our commerce back on, our culture back,
and really take London in a new direction.
We could make this town world-class once again,
and we can do it together.
So I appreciate your thoughts.
Please let me know your comments below.
Again, I do not believe that people want handouts.
I think people want an opportunity
to work, to go out there and create, and to innovate,
and to be of service, and to do their jobs.
And I think if we do that, we could show the world
what a great city looks like.
We could be the leader to cities, like New York,
and Los Angles, and Paris, and Milan, and Madrid.
We could show them what a city can do.
But we've just gotta have someone that leads
and starts making decisions,
much like an entrepreneur would.
And that's what I think is most important.
So please leave your comments below.
Share this video if you agree.
But a 40 billion pound budget deficit,
and we're facing currently,
unemployment records at record highs.
That's not the way forward.
We can solve this.
We have the knowledge.
Let's move forward together.
I look forward to being a big part of that.
Thank you very much.
(drum beats)
(paper scratching)