Labour says Liz Truss comments about British workers a ‘total disgrace’
Nicola Slawson
The shadow home secretary has said comments from Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss, that British workers need “more graft”, are a “total disgrace”.
Yvette Cooper told Sky News:
I think it reveals what she really thinks. This comes after the proposal she put forward to cut public sector pay in the north and other parts of the country.
So teaching assistants or nurses here in Yorkshire would get paid less than people in London or the south-east.
Cooper also accused Liz Truss of being out of touch.
She said:
(She) has absolutely no idea that people are working incredibly hard – people who are getting up to go to their shifts right now, watching your programme just before they go to work, working incredibly hard to try and make ends meet, who are facing these nightmare inflation figures, the soaring energy bills and doing their best to keep everything together.
This insult just shows, I think, that [Truss] does not understand working people right across the country. It’s deeply wrong of her to say this.
Welcome to today’s politics liveblog. I’ll be covering for Andrew Sparrow today. Do drop me a line if you have any questions or think I’ve missed anything. My email is [email protected] and I’m @Nicola_Slawson on Twitter.
On the agenda today is the eighth Conservative party leadership hustings. This time Truss and Rishi Sunak will be answering questions in Belfast at 1pm.
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n
It underlines the need to go forward with a credible economic plan that tackles inflation of course and the cost of living challenges which are immense but also a long-term plan for growth and that is one of the key reasons why I’m backing Liz Truss.
n
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He said it’s a global problem, but things can be done at home, like providing the “right type of support to people” for example with energy bills, such as tax cuts, as Truss has hinted.
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n
There will be an emergency budget within weeks of taking office if she is the new prime minister and this will be an absolute priority.
n
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Asked whether there would be more handouts to people to help them through the cost of living crisis, he said:
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n
She has also made clear that nothing is off the table. It does require immediate action and she recognises that.
n
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Javid stressed:
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n
Our long-term, what’s called the trend growth rate, has not recovered since the global financial crisis and we do need to do a lot more.
n
We cannot tax our way into growth with tax levels almost at the highest in 70 years. We need to address that and cut taxes to make further supply side reforms to get the economy going again.
n
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UK inflation has risen above 10% for the first time in 40 years, driven by soaring prices for food and fuel as households come under mounting pressure from the cost of living crisis.
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The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose by 10.1% in the year to July, up from a reading of 9.4% in June and entering double figures at an earlier stage than anticipated. The figure was last higher in February 1982.
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The reading exceeded the 9.8% forecast from City economists, as the cost of food and drink rose at the highest rates since 2008 amid a broad-based inflationary burst across the economy.
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The biggest increases came for bread and cereals, dairy, meat and vegetables, with the rising cost of food leading to record increases for restaurant and hotel prices and pushing up the cost of takeaways. Price rises for other staple items such as pet food, toilet rolls, toothbrushes and deodorants also sent inflation soaring.
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Prices for package holidays and air fares rose sharply, driven by a summer rush reflected in packed airports across the country.
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The latest figures will pile renewed pressure on the government and Conservative leadership candidates amid accusations the frontrunner, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, are failing to grasp the scale of the cost of living emergency.
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Read the full story here:
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The business desk are running a liveblog on this topic today. You can follow here:
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British workers “are amongst the hardest-working in the world”, Conservative former cabinet minister Sajid Javid said.
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Asked about Tory leadership contender Liz Truss’s claim that British workers need to produce “more graft”, he told Sky News:
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n
That comment, as I understand it, was made a number of years ago; I don’t know the exact context that was made in.
n
What I also heard her say, just in that snippet that you played there, was that the productivity in the UK versus other comparable countries is generally lower and that’s been a longstanding UK problem and that doesn’t happen because British workers don’t work hard; British workers are amongst the hardest-working in the world.
n
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He added:
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n
I think what she’s talking about is business and investment, because to increase productivity the government of course has a huge role to play – there’s capital investment, things like infrastructure investment, for example, those areas that get more of it generally of course can do better in terms of productivity.
n
It’s also about skills investment and making sure that we’re investing in skills across the country, not just in the capital or the south-east but right across the country, and that is what’s going to make the difference, and Liz has a plan for that.
n
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The shadow home secretary has said comments from Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss, that British workers need “more graft”, are a “total disgrace”.
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Yvette Cooper told Sky News:
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n
I think it reveals what she really thinks. This comes after the proposal she put forward to cut public sector pay in the north and other parts of the country.
n
So teaching assistants or nurses here in Yorkshire would get paid less than people in London or the south-east.
n
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Cooper also accused Liz Truss of being out of touch.
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She said:
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n
(She) has absolutely no idea that people are working incredibly hard – people who are getting up to go to their shifts right now, watching your programme just before they go to work, working incredibly hard to try and make ends meet, who are facing these nightmare inflation figures, the soaring energy bills and doing their best to keep everything together.
n
This insult just shows, I think, that [Truss] does not understand working people right across the country. It’s deeply wrong of her to say this.
n
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Welcome to today’s politics liveblog. I’ll be covering for Andrew Sparrow today. Do drop me a line if you have any questions or think I’ve missed anything. My email is [email protected] and I’m @Nicola_Slawson on Twitter.
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On the agenda today is the eighth Conservative party leadership hustings. This time Truss and Rishi Sunak will be answering questions in Belfast at 1pm.
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Key events
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n
It underlines the need to go forward with a credible economic plan that tackles inflation of course and the cost of living challenges which are immense but also a long-term plan for growth and that is one of the key reasons why I’m backing Liz Truss.
n
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He said it’s a global problem, but things can be done at home, like providing the “right type of support to people” for example with energy bills, such as tax cuts, as Truss has hinted.
“,”elementId”:”01710f03-7619-4db8-8570-6c8817dc9c66″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
There will be an emergency budget within weeks of taking office if she is the new prime minister and this will be an absolute priority.
n
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Asked whether there would be more handouts to people to help them through the cost of living crisis, he said:
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n
She has also made clear that nothing is off the table. It does require immediate action and she recognises that.
n
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Javid stressed:
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n
Our long-term, what’s called the trend growth rate, has not recovered since the global financial crisis and we do need to do a lot more.
n
We cannot tax our way into growth with tax levels almost at the highest in 70 years. We need to address that and cut taxes to make further supply side reforms to get the economy going again.
n
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UK inflation has risen above 10% for the first time in 40 years, driven by soaring prices for food and fuel as households come under mounting pressure from the cost of living crisis.
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The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose by 10.1% in the year to July, up from a reading of 9.4% in June and entering double figures at an earlier stage than anticipated. The figure was last higher in February 1982.
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The reading exceeded the 9.8% forecast from City economists, as the cost of food and drink rose at the highest rates since 2008 amid a broad-based inflationary burst across the economy.
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The biggest increases came for bread and cereals, dairy, meat and vegetables, with the rising cost of food leading to record increases for restaurant and hotel prices and pushing up the cost of takeaways. Price rises for other staple items such as pet food, toilet rolls, toothbrushes and deodorants also sent inflation soaring.
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Prices for package holidays and air fares rose sharply, driven by a summer rush reflected in packed airports across the country.
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The latest figures will pile renewed pressure on the government and Conservative leadership candidates amid accusations the frontrunner, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, are failing to grasp the scale of the cost of living emergency.
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Read the full story here:
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The business desk are running a liveblog on this topic today. You can follow here:
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British workers “are amongst the hardest-working in the world”, Conservative former cabinet minister Sajid Javid said.
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Asked about Tory leadership contender Liz Truss’s claim that British workers need to produce “more graft”, he told Sky News:
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n
That comment, as I understand it, was made a number of years ago; I don’t know the exact context that was made in.
n
What I also heard her say, just in that snippet that you played there, was that the productivity in the UK versus other comparable countries is generally lower and that’s been a longstanding UK problem and that doesn’t happen because British workers don’t work hard; British workers are amongst the hardest-working in the world.
n
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He added:
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n
I think what she’s talking about is business and investment, because to increase productivity the government of course has a huge role to play – there’s capital investment, things like infrastructure investment, for example, those areas that get more of it generally of course can do better in terms of productivity.
n
It’s also about skills investment and making sure that we’re investing in skills across the country, not just in the capital or the south-east but right across the country, and that is what’s going to make the difference, and Liz has a plan for that.
n
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The shadow home secretary has said comments from Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss, that British workers need “more graft”, are a “total disgrace”.
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Yvette Cooper told Sky News:
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n
I think it reveals what she really thinks. This comes after the proposal she put forward to cut public sector pay in the north and other parts of the country.
n
So teaching assistants or nurses here in Yorkshire would get paid less than people in London or the south-east.
n
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Cooper also accused Liz Truss of being out of touch.
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She said:
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n
(She) has absolutely no idea that people are working incredibly hard – people who are getting up to go to their shifts right now, watching your programme just before they go to work, working incredibly hard to try and make ends meet, who are facing these nightmare inflation figures, the soaring energy bills and doing their best to keep everything together.
n
This insult just shows, I think, that [Truss] does not understand working people right across the country. It’s deeply wrong of her to say this.
n
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Welcome to today’s politics liveblog. I’ll be covering for Andrew Sparrow today. Do drop me a line if you have any questions or think I’ve missed anything. My email is [email protected] and I’m @Nicola_Slawson on Twitter.
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On the agenda today is the eighth Conservative party leadership hustings. This time Truss and Rishi Sunak will be answering questions in Belfast at 1pm.
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Filters BETA
On Keir Starmer’s plan to freeze the energy price cap, Conservative former cabinet minister Sajid Javid said: “I don’t think his numbers added up at all.”
He told Sky News:
When you’re in opposition you’re never going to be held accountable for what you say, so you say what sounds good. I listened to what Keir Starmer had to say yesterday, I don’t think his numbers added up at all.
He added:
She’s [Liz Truss] thinking very carefully about the commitments, rightly so and she’s made some solid commitments, but one of those clearly is to have this emergency budget, as I say, will happen within weeks and to take further action.
Nothing has been taken off the table because she recognises as I do and as I think most politicians do, is that this is a very, very serious crisis for families at home. They would have looked at that inflation number today and whilst it might not be a shock because of what the Bank of England said recently, that doesn’t make it any less palpable to anyone. People will be worried and Liz is going to be the right person to deal with this.
Asked if support would be blanket or targeted, he added:
I think you don’t have to choose between the two… What she has said with the tax cuts, of course that will benefit everyone, but having a look at if targeted action can be taken, I’m sure that will be considered when it comes to the emergency budget.
The cost of living crisis is a concern particularly for pensioners who “won’t be able to earn more money”, former Treasury minister John Glen has said.
He told the BBC:
It is obviously a very significant concern for those on fixed incomes. And my major concern is how we’re going to support the most vulnerable, particularly pensioners who won’t be able to earn more money.
Amid such concerns, he accused Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss of causing “confusion”.
He told the BBC:
We need to know what Liz Truss is going to do because what we’ve heard so far is a lot of confusion, frankly, not an inclination to do any more handouts, lots of tax cuts that won’t affect pensioners, but will have a significant effect if they’re unfunded on the economy and inflationary pressures.
Sajid Javid: ‘We need to cut taxes to get the economy going’
Julia Kollewe
Sajid Javid, a former chancellor and a supporter of Liz Truss, the frontrunner to become the next prime minister, said he wasn’t shocked by the figures because we had recently heard the Bank of England’s forecast. He said on BBC radio 4’s Today programme:
It underlines the need to go forward with a credible economic plan that tackles inflation of course and the cost of living challenges which are immense but also a long-term plan for growth and that is one of the key reasons why I’m backing Liz Truss.
He said it’s a global problem, but things can be done at home, like providing the “right type of support to people” for example with energy bills, such as tax cuts, as Truss has hinted.
There will be an emergency budget within weeks of taking office if she is the new prime minister and this will be an absolute priority.
Asked whether there would be more handouts to people to help them through the cost of living crisis, he said:
She has also made clear that nothing is off the table. It does require immediate action and she recognises that.
Javid stressed:
Our long-term, what’s called the trend growth rate, has not recovered since the global financial crisis and we do need to do a lot more.
We cannot tax our way into growth with tax levels almost at the highest in 70 years. We need to address that and cut taxes to make further supply side reforms to get the economy going again.
UK inflation hits 10.1%, driven by soaring food and fuel prices
Richard Partington
UK inflation has risen above 10% for the first time in 40 years, driven by soaring prices for food and fuel as households come under mounting pressure from the cost of living crisis.
The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose by 10.1% in the year to July, up from a reading of 9.4% in June and entering double figures at an earlier stage than anticipated. The figure was last higher in February 1982.
The reading exceeded the 9.8% forecast from City economists, as the cost of food and drink rose at the highest rates since 2008 amid a broad-based inflationary burst across the economy.
The biggest increases came for bread and cereals, dairy, meat and vegetables, with the rising cost of food leading to record increases for restaurant and hotel prices and pushing up the cost of takeaways. Price rises for other staple items such as pet food, toilet rolls, toothbrushes and deodorants also sent inflation soaring.
Prices for package holidays and air fares rose sharply, driven by a summer rush reflected in packed airports across the country.
The latest figures will pile renewed pressure on the government and Conservative leadership candidates amid accusations the frontrunner, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, are failing to grasp the scale of the cost of living emergency.
Read the full story here:
The business desk are running a liveblog on this topic today. You can follow here:
If you haven’t heard it yet, here’s the audio recording of Liz Truss speaking about British workers.
The comments were made when Truss was the chief secretary to the Treasury, a post she held until 2019.
In the recording she intimated that there seemed little desire to change the working culture so that the UK could become more prosperous and suggested British workers lacked the “skill and application” of foreign rivals.
You can read more on this story from my colleague Pippa Crerar here:
Javid: ‘British workers among hardest-working in the world’
British workers “are amongst the hardest-working in the world”, Conservative former cabinet minister Sajid Javid said.
Asked about Tory leadership contender Liz Truss’s claim that British workers need to produce “more graft”, he told Sky News:
That comment, as I understand it, was made a number of years ago; I don’t know the exact context that was made in.
What I also heard her say, just in that snippet that you played there, was that the productivity in the UK versus other comparable countries is generally lower and that’s been a longstanding UK problem and that doesn’t happen because British workers don’t work hard; British workers are amongst the hardest-working in the world.
He added:
I think what she’s talking about is business and investment, because to increase productivity the government of course has a huge role to play – there’s capital investment, things like infrastructure investment, for example, those areas that get more of it generally of course can do better in terms of productivity.
It’s also about skills investment and making sure that we’re investing in skills across the country, not just in the capital or the south-east but right across the country, and that is what’s going to make the difference, and Liz has a plan for that.
Labour says Liz Truss comments about British workers a ‘total disgrace’
Nicola Slawson
The shadow home secretary has said comments from Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss, that British workers need “more graft”, are a “total disgrace”.
Yvette Cooper told Sky News:
I think it reveals what she really thinks. This comes after the proposal she put forward to cut public sector pay in the north and other parts of the country.
So teaching assistants or nurses here in Yorkshire would get paid less than people in London or the south-east.
Cooper also accused Liz Truss of being out of touch.
She said:
(She) has absolutely no idea that people are working incredibly hard – people who are getting up to go to their shifts right now, watching your programme just before they go to work, working incredibly hard to try and make ends meet, who are facing these nightmare inflation figures, the soaring energy bills and doing their best to keep everything together.
This insult just shows, I think, that [Truss] does not understand working people right across the country. It’s deeply wrong of her to say this.
Welcome to today’s politics liveblog. I’ll be covering for Andrew Sparrow today. Do drop me a line if you have any questions or think I’ve missed anything. My email is [email protected] and I’m @Nicola_Slawson on Twitter.
On the agenda today is the eighth Conservative party leadership hustings. This time Truss and Rishi Sunak will be answering questions in Belfast at 1pm.
www.theguardian.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism