Chris Philp has been criticised by both the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties after suggesting Britons need a better “work ethic”.
The shadow home secretary said that “as a country we need to lift our game” when it comes to productivity to compete with countries such as China and India.
Philp cited economic inactivity statistics that show nine million adults of working age are not in employment, adding: “We need everybody to be making a contribution
Appearing on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, Philp was asked: “Do you think that belief in hard work is something that’s missing in Britain today?”
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Philp replied: “I do a bit.
“There are nine million working age adults who are not working, and as we compete globally with countries like South Korea, China, India — we need a work ethic.
“We need everybody to be making a contribution. We are in, as George Osborne said years ago, we are in a global race, and that means we’ve got to be competitive, and it means we’ve got to work hard.
“I think as a country, we need to lift our game, we need to up our game.”
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Responding to his comments, a Labour spokesperson said: “Chris Philp was the architect of the Liz Truss Budget which crashed the economy and sent family mortgages rocketing.
“After the Conservatives’ economic failure left working people worse off, it takes some real brass neck for the Tory top team to tell the public that it’s really all their fault.
“It’s the same old Tories. They haven’t changed and they’ve learned nothing.”
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson added: “No-one can doubt Chris Philp’s work ethic after he crashed the economy in just 39 days as Treasury minister under Liz Truss.
“He also treated himself to a £5,000 taxpayer–funded handout after finally resigning from Boris Johnson’s government.
“The British public will no doubt take his advice with a bucketload of salt.
“The Conservatives could do with showing a bit more humility after trashing the economy and leaving the NHS on its knees.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
