Across the UK, online, on DAB and on your smart speaker, the Independent Republic of Mike Graham, on Talk Radio.

Good morning, welcome to the Independent Republic of Mike Graham right here on Talk Radio.

It's another multi-billion pound bonanza from the government today

as Chancellor Rishi Sunak prepares to fund hundreds of thousands of young people

to do six-month-long work placements in another effort to kickstart the economy

and to stave off the chance of 16 to 24-year-olds being left on the scrap heap because of the coronavirus.

Youngsters on Universal Credit will qualify for payments of 5,500 quid over six months,

and employers will get £1,000 just for giving them the job.

Of course, the move is just part of the Chancellor's Summer Statement today,

which you will hear live on this very show,

and it is also expected to include a temporary cut in VAT for the hospitality sector

just in time for me to go out for dinner tomorrow night as well as a stamp duty holiday there's also

another three billion quid for green investment and upgrades to public buildings as well so this is

basically the five billion pounds that we were promised by Boris Johnson in the new deal just last

week he must be doing something right though because even the TUC's general secretary,

Francis O'Grady, who's never much of a cheery individual,

is welcoming the stimulus as an effort to stop mass unemployment for the young.

We'll be asking George Pascoe Watson, former political editor of the Sun,

if it could really work.

034449-1,000.

Coming up later on, we'll be joined by historian and archaeologist Neil Oliver

with his take on the week and where we go from here.

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