T
he furlough “cannot and should not go on forever” declared Rishi Sunak back in July.
And who would disagree with that? Indeed, who was calling for never-ending furlough? The chancellor was knocking down a straw man.
What people were pointing out was that if there was another spike in coronavirus cases and a return to restrictions on the economy it would be sensible for the chancellor to retain the option of keeping furlough (technically known as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) in place.