Labour has accused the Conservatives of showing “some real brass neck” after a shadow minister said Britain needed a better “work ethic”.
Asked whether he thought Britain was missing “a belief in hard work”, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast: “I do a bit.”
Adding there were nine million working-age people not in work, he said “we need a work ethic” to compete with countries such as South Korea, China and India.
Figures published this month showed 9.3 million people were economically inactive between September and November last year, down slightly on the year before but still 670,000 more than before the pandemic.
The British public will no doubt take his advice with a bucketload of salt
However, around a quarter of those are economically inactive because they are students and another 30% have a long-term illness.
Following Mr Philp’s comments, a Labour spokesperson said: “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.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper also criticised Mr Philp, saying his own “work ethic” as chief secretary to the Treasury under Liz Truss had “crashed the economy in just 39 days”.
She added: “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.”
Asked about Mr Philp’s comments, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told broadcasters: “I think everybody should be working hard, including myself.”
