Chancellor finally offers UKs self employed a lifeline with 80% state aid

The self-employed will be able to claim state aid of up to 80% of profits as England prepares for a new lockdown, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced.

The rise is up from the current 40%, and will mean £4.5bn of government support for the self-employed between November and January, he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced backlash from within his own party over the new lockdown.

That criticism included not doing enough to help the self-employed.

In a statement to the House of Commons to outline the new national measures, due to come into force on Thursday, the prime minister told MPs: “It’s now clear we must do more together.”

He added: “The government will continue to do everything possible to support jobs and livelihoods in the next four weeks, as we have throughout.

“We protected almost 10 million jobs and we’re now extending the scheme throughout November.

“We’ve already paid out £13.7bn to help the self-employed and I can announce today that, for November, we will double our support from 40% to 80% of trading profits.

“The chancellor will also extend the deadline for applications to COVID loan schemes from the end of this month to the end of the next, to ensure small businesses can have access to additional loans if required.”