Back in March, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised that his government would put its arms around every single British worker. On Thursday, his chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak signaled that the embrace is now over, though at least he has not replaced it with a cold shoulder.

It’s been obvious for a while that the Covid-19 economic crisis won’t be over by Halloween, when the UK’s successful furlough programme is due to end. Many called for the programme to be extended, as France and Germany have done, or at least tailored to help struggling sectors such as travel and hospitality and preserve what Sunak has called “the dignity of work”...

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