'It's the same old Tories. They haven't changed and they've learned nothing'
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Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has been slammed for saying that British people “need a work ethic”.
Speaking with Nick Robinson on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, Philp said that “as a country we need to lift our game”.
He said there are nine million working age adults not in employment, and that the UK “needs everyone to make a contribution” to compete with countries like China and India.
Philp referred to George Osborne’s remark in 2013 about the UK being in a “global race”. He said: “That means we’ve got to be competitive, and it means we’ve got to work hard”.
Responding to Philp’s comments, a Labour spokesperson said the Conservatives had “real brass neck” to tell the public the previous government’s economic failures were “really all their fault”.
“Chris Philp was the architect of the Liz Truss Budget which crashed the economy and sent family mortgages rocketing,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s the same old Tories. They haven’t changed and they’ve learned nothing.”
In autumn 2022, Philp was briefly appointed chief secretary to the Treasury under Truss, before her tax-cutting mini-Budget triggered market turmoil and led to her resignation as prime minister.
In his interview with Robinson, the Croydon South MP said he had developed a strong work ethic as a teenager, delivering newspapers, washing people’s cars and working in Sainsburys.
“I found that working hard brought its own reward and I’ve kept doing that ever since.
“It is something I would like to infuse more into our national culture as well.”
Asked if he thought a belief in hard work was something that was missing in Britain, he replied “I do a bit”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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