| https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/a...russ-once-again Truss’s comments from her time at the Treasury, revealed in a leaked recording to the Guardian, are in danger of undermining her already fragile commitment to levelling up. They also open her up to charges of talking down the UK – a serious offence as far as some of her Tory colleagues are concerned – despite her best endeavours with union flags, “Global Britain” and belligerent attacks on Brussels and the Scottish government. But her views are not particularly new. They echo a controversial passage in a book, Britannia Unchained, she co-authored with four other Tory MPs including Dominic Raab and Kwasi Kwarteng, her likely chancellor if she makes it to No 10. “Once they enter the workplace, the British are among the worst idlers in the world,” they wrote. “We work among the lowest hours, we retire early and our productivity is poor. Whereas Indian children aspire to be doctors or businessmen, the British are more interested in football and pop music.” https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/li...n-b1019006.html She said: “I 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.” |
