Liz Truss says British workers ‘need more graft’ to get richer
Liz Truss has batted away a backlash after a recording emerged of her complaining that British workers lack ‘graft’.
The Tory leadership front runner swiped at the ‘working culture’ in parts of the UK outside London, comparing it unfavourably with China.
In the remarks – made when Ms Truss was a Treasury minister between 2017 and 2019 – she warned that for Britons to be ‘richer’ productivity must improve.
Asked about the tape at hustings last night, the would-be PM said she wanted ‘more productivity across the country and we need more economic growth’.
But Labour has seized on the words, and allies tried to cool the row this morning.
In interviews, former Cabinet minister Sajid Javid said he ‘didn’t know the exact context’ the comments were made and stressed that British workers are ‘the most hard-working in the world’.
Asked about the tape at hustings in Perth last night, Liz Truss said she wanted ‘more productivity across the country and we need more economic growth’
In the recording obtained by the Guardian, Ms Truss can be heard saying: ‘There’s a fundamental issue of British working culture.
‘Essentially, if we’re going to be a richer country and a more prosperous country, that needs to change. But I don’t think people are that keen to change that.’
She added there was a ‘slight thing in Britain about wanting the easy answers’, before saying: ‘But actually what needs to happen is more… more graft. It’s not a popular message.’
She also said that productivity was ‘very, very different in London from the rest of the country’, claiming this was ‘partly a mindset and attitude thing’.
‘If you look at productivity, it’s very, very different in London from the rest of the country. But basically this has been a historical fact for decades. Essentially it’s partly a mindset and attitude thing, I think. It’s working culture, basically.
‘If you go to China it’s quite different, I can assure you.’
Asked about the remarks at the Tory leadership hustings in Perth last night, Ms Truss said: ‘I don’t know what you are quoting there but the points that I have always made is what we need in this country is more productivity across the country and we need more economic growth.
‘The thing that we don’t have enough of is capital investment and that is why it is so important that we get businesses investing, whether it is in the oil and gas industry, whether it is in the whisky industry.’
Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth referenced an abandoned Truss campaign pledge which could have cut public sector pay outside London, adding: ‘Now it’s revealed she has been saying people outside London don’t have the right culture or attitude.
‘With wages shrinking thanks to Tory failure to bring inflation under control and years of lacklustre growth, it’s grossly offensive for Liz Truss to effectively brand British workers lazy.’
The Tory leadership front runner swiped at the ‘working culture’ in parts of the UK outside London (pictured), comparing it unfavourably with China
