Leaked recording reveals Liz Truss saying UK workers lack ‘skill and application’, need more ‘graft’
A leaked recording has revealed Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss saying UK workers lacked “skill and application” compared to foreign rivals.
The foreign secretary made her comments before 2019 when she was number two in the treasury, and was questioned about it last night during a feisty hustings in Peth.
The recording, originally published by the Guardian, reveals her saying she ““once wrote a book about this which got mischaracterised – British workers produce less per hour than … and that’s a combination of kind of skill and application.”
“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.”
Truss, who is way ahead in the polls against rival Rishi Sunak, added “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.
“There’s a slight thing in Britain about wanting the easy answers. That’s my reflection on the election and what’s gone before it, and the referendum – we say it’s all Europe that’s causing these huge problems. It’s all these migrants causing these problems. But actually what needs to happen is more graft. It’s not a popular message.”
The remarks echo a passage about UK workers being the ‘worst idlers in the world’, in a book she co-authored in 2012 with Dominic Raab. During the recording, she said the book Britannia Unchained had been “mischaracterised”.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, accused Truss of having a problem with workers outside of London.
He added Truss previously said “workers outside London should have their pay cut. Now it’s revealed she has been saying people outside London don’t have the right culture or attitude.
“It’s grossly offensive for Liz Truss to effectively brand British workers lazy.”