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Politics
Kate Plummer
Oct 03, 2022
‘Get new job’ or cut your spending, Tory chair tells struggling Britons
Indy
The Tory chair has been met with backlash after giving a less than empathetic response to the cost of living crisis.
“People know when they get their bills, they can either cut their consumption or get higher salaries or higher wages, and go out there and get that new job,” Jake Berry told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, without remorse, during an interview about the government's plans for the economy.
He added: “That’s the approach the government is taking in trying to create growth.”
While PM Liz Truss has pledged to cap energy bills to a maximum of £2,500 from October, this is still a huge amount more than last year when a typical household paid £1,277 a year at most so to say Berry's comments missed the mark is an understatement.
Meanwhile, his comments came before chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the new government's first U-turn and cancelled proposals to scrap the 45p rate of tax.
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Here's how people reacted to Berry's helpful advice:
\u201cI am an unpaid family carer. To leave my son with paid carers I need to employ 2 people to be with him for every hour I am out of the home. \n\nWhere can I get a job that would allow me to pay all my bills and employ 2 people full time?\u201d— Rachel George \ud83d\udc99 (@Rachel George \ud83d\udc99) 1664753178
\u201c\u201cIf you can\u2019t afford your fuel bill, either freeze or go out and get yourself that dream well paid job\u201d. A policy that could only be devised by maniacs.\u201d— Brendan May (@Brendan May) 1664721621
\u201cJake Berry claimed \u00a3220,100 expenses in last year, he wont need to get a new job to pay his energy bills, we are paying for him. Maniac or not he has no place representing the people of his constituency\u201d— Peter Furlong (@Peter Furlong) 1664781341
\u201cTory Chairman Jake Berry telling people to get better paid jobs if they\u2019re struggling\u201d— Toby Earle \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Toby Earle \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1664781405
\u201cSo Jake Berry thinks that people should just get higher paying jobs. But his party is not prepared to give a pay rise to public sector workers, is it?\u201d— Daniela Nadj (@Daniela Nadj) 1664748895
\u201cTory Chairman Jake Berry\u2019s advice to people forced to choose between eating and heating. \u201cPeople know that when their bills arrive, they can cut their consumption or get a higher salary\u2026\u201dHow heartless these Tories are #TrussMustGo\u201d— Diane Abbott MP (@Diane Abbott MP) 1664723050
Union general secretary Christina McAnea said the comments showed the government was “living on another planet”, adding: “If more key workers take the government’s advice, there’ll soon be no one left to run our hospitals, schools and care homes.”
Oh dear.
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