Yellow moving vans posted in front of 10 Downing Street, and a Prime Minister on vacation… This is the image of a “zombie government” described by the British press this week. While the latest figures show wages falling in the UK compared to the cost of living (minus 3% in the second quarter of 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics) and inflation at a 40-year high (10.1% in July), Boris Johnson flew to Greece with the family, having already taken a holiday in Slovenia at the beginning of August.
Boris Johnson spotted in Greece on second holiday in two weeks https://t.co/rZD28x9vX3
— The Independent (@Independent) August 14, 2022
The Conservatives will choose a replacement for this shadow Prime Minister by September 5. Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King’s College London, puts this particular context into perspective. “It’s a shame we have a prime minister who doesn’t do his job, and we need someone who does, but I wouldn’t say the UK is worse off than Germany or France, where households are also in difficulty because of rising inflation and wages that do not follow.
Brexit, rising energy bills and war in Ukraine are factors behind the current crisis. Problems that will now be those of the next British Prime Minister, according to Downing Street when asked about Boris Johnson’s inaction. The latter asked to be disturbed on vacation only in case of emergency.
At the same time, the favorite to succeed Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Liz Truss, makes controversial statements. The daily The Guardian uploaded an audio recording (article in English) from a few years ago where the candidate explains that the British are not very productive workers.
Leaked audio reveals Liz Truss said British workers needed ‘more graft’ https://t.co/sEhIMefnLE
— The Guardian (@guardian) August 16, 2022
She who sells herself as the people’s candidate, coming from Yorkshire, in the north of England, thus affirms that her fellow citizens should “work more”. In the less than a minute recording, Liz Truss doesn’t mince words: “There is a real problem in the British working culture. There is a tendency in Britain to want to find easy answers. They say that all problems are caused by Europe or migrants but in reality this what we need is a little more willpower to work hard!”
Leaked audio reveals Liz Truss said British workers needed ‘more graft’ https://t.co/sEhIMefnLE
— The Guardian (@guardian) August 16, 2022
In this conversation recorded when she was number two in the Treasury between 2017 and 2019, Liz Truss explains, among other things, that worker productivity is much lower outside of London. The leak of this document risks tarnishing her reputation, but should not prevent Liz Truss from winning the race in Downing Street against her rival Rishi Sunak. But the recording still reveals the rift between the British political class and the rest of the population, as energy prices soar and the cost of living rises faster than wages.
Is this who @Trussliz means when she says British workers “need more graft” pic.twitter.com/iZhIweTdnD
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 16, 2022