Spreadsheet Phil Thinks Everyone Has a Job

Monday 20 November, 2017 Written by Politico

“Spreadsheet Phil” Hammond reinforced his reputation as a tin-eared technocrat by declaring everyone in Britain has a job. “There are no unemployed people,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr. By the time he’d arrived at the ITV studios to be grilled by Robert Peston he had a different message. “There are 1.4 million unemployed people and that is 1.4 million too many.” The chancellor was trying to say new technology might destroy some jobs but it creates new ones. No matter, the off-hand remark will be all that anyone remembers.

Vince Cable said:

"As Chancellor, Philip Hammond needs to be on top of the numbers, and as he should know very well, there are actually 1.425m people unemployed. Worse, a large number of them are second or third generation out of work, suggesting that all that a large number of people are inheriting in Britain today is poverty.'

Philip Hammond says "there are no unemployed people" on #Marr Show, before insisting the government hasn't forgotten the 1.4 million people who are out of work.