Why tell the truth, when a lie sounds so much better?
On the day inflation hit a thirty-year peak, Boris Johnson spent Prime Minister’s Questions once again massaging the truth.
The Tories are apparently doing a really good job at running the country – but weirdly, amidst soaring energy bills, high inflation, a looming National Insurance hike and war in Ukraine spiking food prices, none of us are feeling the supposed benefits.
Here are a few of Wednesday’s best false claims:
P&O were able to fire 800 people, because of an EU law
Last Thursday, P&O Ferries sacked 800 of its employees via Zoom, and replaced them with a workforce reportedly being paid as little as £1.80 an hour.
Much has been said about the legality of the firings – and today, Johnson claimed it was all down to an EU directive.
But according to maritime lawyer Kevin Barnett, P&O was legally allowed to sack their staff without notifying government because of a law change brought in by former Tory government minister, Chris Grayling.
Then transport Secretary – infamously nicknamed “failing Grayling”, approved a law that said ships registered abroad do not have to tell the UK government about redundancies.
This means it’s likely P&O legally fired 800 people – thanks to the Tories.
Bonus: Ireland and Spain both banned fire and rehire practices that would have prevented the P&O scandal. They’re both in the EU.
His government offers people the “best protection of all” – which is “a job”.
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows there were more people in employment before Boris Johnson became Prime Minister than there is now.
In fact, there were 284,000 more people in employment the month before he took office than in December 2021 (when the ONS published its most recent figures).
The UK economy grew faster and more effectively than any other comparable economy
Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has explained that while the statement is true – it doesn’t reveal the truth.
He said: “Economy grew strongly because it collapsed so much in 2020. Only interesting comparisons are with pre-covid levels. We’ve done less well than most of G7 since then.”
By comparing growth with pre-pandemic levels, it’s clear the statement is of little significance for the UK economy.
In fact – Mike Cherry, the National Chair for the Federation of Small business has said “our economic recovery is not yet underway in any true sense”.
Related Links
- Food bank users decline potatoes because ‘they can’t afford to boil them’, Iceland boss says
- ‘I shouldn’t have been in prison for six years’ Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe speaks out in first UK interview
- P&O will pay new workers as little as £1.80 an hour, unions claim
RELATED ARTICLES
MORE FROM JOE
MORE FROM JOE
