Brits need better work ethic, says senior Tory MP Chris Philp

The UK needs to “up its game” and get a work ethic in order to compete in the global economic race, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp has said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, he said there were nine million working age adults not in employment and that the UK “needs everyone to make a contribution” to keep up with countries like China and India.

He said he had worked hard in his career to set up businesses, adding: “It’s worked for me, it can work for the country as well.”

During the interview, the MP also recalled his time serving under Liz Truss, saying he had urged restraint but wasn’t listened to.

Philp was elected MP for Croydon South in 2015, and worked in several ministerial departments in the Conservative government including the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.

Before entering politics he set up businesses in finance and travel.

He said he developed a strong work ethic in his early teens, delivering newspapers, washing people’s cars and working in Sainsburys.

“I found that working hard brought its own reward and I’ve kept doing that ever since.

“It is something I would like to infuse more into our national culture as well.”

Asked if he thought a belief in hard work was something that was missing in Britain, he replied “I do a bit.”

“There are nine million working age adults who are not working.

“As we compete globally with countries like South Korea, China, India, we need a work ethic, we need everybody to be making a contribution.

“We are in a global race that means we have got be competitive and it means we have got to work hard.

“As a country we need to up our game.”

David Cameron spoke about the UK needing to win the “global race” in the early days of his premiership although the phrase was later dropped.

Chris Philp was chief secretary to the Treasury in autumn 2022 when Truss’s tax-cutting mini-Budget triggered market turmoil, leading to her resignation as prime minister.

Following the announcement of the measures, Philp had posted a message on social media reading: “Great to see Sterling strengthening on the back of the new UK growth plan.”

However, this was shortly followed by a dramatic tumble in the value of the pound as the market reacted badly to the mini-Budget.

Asked about the post, Philp told Nick Robinson: “Clearly commenting on currency movement was a dumb idea and I shouldn’t have done that – I learnt a lesson.”

He said that Truss’s tax reductions should have been accompanied by “some spending restraint in order to help balance the books and to maintain market confidence”.

“I made that case internally… but it wasn’t listened to.”

“I was hoping, despite all the difficulties and the very bad market reaction, there was a way to get through it to implement a growth plan… ultimately there wasn’t a way of doing that.

“Had my suggestions been listened to a bit earlier, there was much higher chance it would have worked.

“It will always be a matter of regret that those points weren’t taken on board and listened to.”

In a wide ranging interview with Nick Robinson, Philp said that having always worked hard and taken responsibility for his own life, it was difficult when, in 2013, his twins were born prematurely and he was “not in control” and had to be reliant on others for help.

His son and daughter were born at 25 weeks and one day, only just past the legal limit for abortion.

“The doctor was completely honest, he said at this level there is only a 50/50 chance of survival, and even if they survive there’s a very significant chance of disability.

“That was a moment of shock.

“My first children, my only children… I thought it would be a wonderful new chapter of life but then this happened.

“There is nothing you can do, apart from being present… nothing medical you can do.

“They were on life support for three months, within a week the doctors said we should take them out of the incubator.

“They were covered in wires and tubes and everything, the doctors got us to take off our tops and hold the babies against our chest.

“Apparently that skin-to-skin contact reassures the babies.

“That was the one thing we could do, it was actually quite nice to think we could do that to help them.”

He said that there was a “happy ending” and that despite a difficult first few years they are “absolutely fine”.

Philp said it was a “traumatic experience” but he didn’t realise it until seven years later when Covid hit and the smell of hand sanitiser took him back to being in the neonatal unit.

“It brought back this sort of flood of memories that I hadn’t even been conscious were there.”

You can listen to the Political Thinking with Nick Robinson interview with Chris Philp on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday at 17:30 GMT or on BBC Sounds.