Gaffe-prone work and pensions minister Chris Grayling has made another stunning statistical screw-up - over-estimating the proportion of London households in which no one has ever worked by a factor of more than 3:1.
Gaffe-prone work and pensions minister Chris Grayling has made another stunning statistical screw-up – over-estimating the proportion of London households in which no one has ever worked by a factor of more than 3:1.
City AM reveals that Grayling’s DWP:
…rapped out a press release claiming that there are 71,000 households in London where no-one has ever worked, equivalent to 23 per cent of the capital. Perturbed by the maths, a conscientious City A.M.er rang up to check the figures, to be greeted by a red-faced spinner.
“It’s actually 61,000 households, equivalent to just seven per cent of London,” she explained, apologetically.
This isn’t the first run-in Grayling has had with a calculator, of course: earlier this year, as shadow home secretary, he was publicly rebuked by the head of the UK Statistics Authority for manipulating crime statistic comparisons in the election…
Since the turn of the year, Left Foot Forward has exposed and chronicled many more Grayling gaffes:
• February 3rd: Grayling claims there was a “98 per cent increase in serious violent crime” under Labour – the true figure is actually a 43 per cent fall.
• March 9th: Grayling claims there was a 44 per cent increase in violent crime – yet failed to release any details, figures or sources to back him up.
• March 20th: Grayling is caught on camera condemning the principle behind David Cameron’s unilateral bank tax at a public meeting.
• April 4th: Grayling is secretly recorded saying hotel owners “should have the right” to bar gay couples from their premises – putting him at odds with the image of the ‘new’ Tory party.
• April 9th: Grayling is filmed on a council estate near King’s Cross station and fails to make the link between poor social housing and drug use, then later that day blunders on the issue of youth reoffending.
• April 20th: Out of hiding, Grayling refuses to say he regrets his homophobic B&B remarks – only to be slapped down by David Cameron later that same day.
• April 23rd: Grayling fails to welcome the latest fall in violent crime, bizarrely claiming the fall in violent crime is evidence that Britain is a “more dangerous country” than before.
• April 27th: Two independent fact checking websites further undermine Grayling’s claims about violent crime; once again he refueses to provide any evidence for his claims.
How would we fill our webspace without him…
51 Responses to “Another balls-up by Calamity Chris!”
Fat Bloke on Tour
I think it should be noted that Mickey Mouse has a Chris Grayling watch.
Mr. Sensible
Well remembered, Olly.
And I think it was him who made that comment about the wire.
But Shamik said at the begining of the list that this was for this year.
What with Cameron doing the gaffs abroad, Clegg doing the gafs when let loose in the Commons, and Grayling doing the gaffs when let loose abroad, they make a fine team!
oldpolitics
Wait, so there are only 871,000 households in London (on the corrected figures) and about 310,000 (on the original figures)? That sounds like rather fewer than my experience of London would imply. What am I missing?
Mr. Sensible
Oh, and did I forget to mention what Bob Neil said in the Commons in June about the poorest areas bearing the brunt?
August
The question posed about what you’d do without Chris Grayling’s gaffe to fill your copy – well you’d probably make stuff up – or present it in a really biased way.
Some of his cock ups are accurate and highly funny – but the one you mention about the the bank tax is wrong and you bloody well know it – this website got panned last year by all and sundry for its shoddy reporting and then attempts to back track on that story.
That being said – leave him alone you bullys lol!