The UK chancellor and the welfare secretary have suggested that too many people are claiming unemployment benefit as a lifestyle choice after a rise in joblessness.
Jeremy Hunt and Mel Stride used a joint article in the Times to ramp up the government’s anti-welfare rhetoric in the run-up to the general election.
It came a day after data from the Office for National Statistics showed unemployment increased by 166,000 between the final three months of 2023 and the first three months of 2024, pushing up the jobless rate from 3.8% to 4.3%.
Labour seized on the figures to claim that Rishi Sunak’s economic plan was not working.
In their article, Hunt and Stride said the number of people out of work owing to long-term sickness was a “challenge”. But they added: “Unemployment benefits should only be there as a safety net, not a lifestyle choice.”
They rekindled a traditional Conservative party trope by suggesting those on benefits were shirking work. Hunt and Stride wrote: “With around 900,000 vacancies in the economy there are ample opportunities for people to get on and get ahead in the world of work.”
And they insisted the UK’s labour market was healthy: “The headline figures published by the ONS yesterday will of course attract attention, but our economic record is strong and our labour market resilient.
“Indeed, the ONS itself has expressed some caution about the data being produced by its surveys over a number of months, so it is important not to be alarmist.”
They pointed out that the number of people classed as economically inactive in the UK was lower than in 2010, and better than rates in the US, Italy and France. And they claimed thousands more would be helped back into employment by the government’s back-to-work programme.
They added: “The road to recovery is never entirely smooth – there are bumps, twists and turns. But by standing up to the issues of our day, we will grow the economy and raise living standards for hard-working Britons.”
The economic outlook was “better than many would have you believe”, they said, adding: “For the last 10 months wages have increased faster than inflation. Inflation is down from 11% to just 3.2%, and is on track to fall to around 2% this month.
“Since January the UK’s economy has grown at the fastest rate in two years – faster than any other G7 country and even faster than the United States.”
The TUC’s general secretary, Paul Nowak, accused Hunt and Stride of “gaslighting the British public on the state of the UK labour market”.
He said: “Unemployment shot up by over 160,000 over the last quarter and record numbers of people are becoming economically inactive because they are too sick to work.
“Instead of punching down, the Tories should be tackling our sky-high waiting lists and improving access to treatment. And they should be laser-focused on improving the quality of work in this country.
“People need jobs they can build a life on. But under the Conservatives we have seen an explosion of low-paid and insecure work that has led to eye-watering levels of in-work poverty.
“Before handing out lectures, Jeremy Hunt and Mel Stride should try surviving on a zero-hours contract.”
