Tory chair Jake Berry regrets ‘clumsy’ comments after he claimed Britons struggling with cost-of-living crisis should ‘get a new job’
- Tory chair Jake Berry claimed Britons struggling with bills should ‘get a new job’
- His remarks prompted furious backlash with Labour branding him ‘out-of-touch’
- He today expresses his ‘regret’ at his remarks and admits they were ‘clumsy’
Tory chairman Jake Berry today admitted it was ‘a bit clumsy’ to claim Britons struggling through the cost-of-living crisis should ‘get a new job’.
The Cabinet minister expressed his ‘regret’ at his remarks, which saw Labour brand him ‘out-of-touch’ amid a furious backlash.
The Rossendale and Darwen MP insisted he was trying to promote Liz Truss’s economic growth agenda when he suggested Britons should seek higher-paid work.
He also urged Tory colleagues to get behind the Prime Minister’s ‘bold vision’ for the country.
Prior to the start of the Conservative Party conference on Sunday, Mr Berry suggested people could get better-paid jobs to cover their energy bills.
‘People know that when their bills arrive, they can either cut their consumption or they can get a higher salary or higher wages, go out there and get that new job,’ he told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday show.
In fierce criticism of the Tory chairman’s comments, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner asked how Mr Berry thought people on low pay could ‘simply magically upgrade to a higher-wage job’.
Jake Berry expressed his ‘regret’ at his remarks, which saw Labour brand him ‘out-of-touch’ amid a furious backlash
The Tory chairman urged his party’s MPs to get behind the Prime Minister’s ‘bold vision’ for the country after days of infighting
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Mr Berry acknowledged the ‘clumsy’ nature of his remarks.
‘I do think my language was a bit clumsy in that regard and I regret it,’ he said.
‘The point I was making… is that the Government needs to go for growth to ensure that it can grow the economy and Britain can get a pay rise.
‘You don’t have to tell me how hard people graft in this economy. I know how hard people work.’
The Tory chairman also used the radio interview to urge the party’s MPs to rally behind Ms Truss after a Conservative conference dominated by bitter infighting.
The four-day gathering in Birmingham saw an almost total collapse in Tory discipline, as MPs and ministers engaged in fierce rows over benefits cuts and the PM’s U-turn on scrapping the 45p tax rate.
Asked if he was concerned Ms Truss was ‘driving the party over a cliff’, Mr Berry called on people to ‘listen to and look at’ what the PM said in her keynote conference speech yesterday.
‘I don’t think she was talking just to people in the conference hall, she was talking to the country about her vision,’ he said.
‘I hope and believe that the country will listen to that.
‘And I hope colleagues will listen to it and see that we do have a bold vision for our country to transform it to better the lives of families and people up and down this country.’
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