Rishi Sunak ‘blames people on benefits’ for high inflation in ‘shocking’ footage

Conservative leader candidate Rishi Sunak has been criticised after he appeared to blame benefit claimants for high inflation and labour shortages.

In his leadership speech to Conservative members last night, the former chancellor said the country’s main challenge other than soaring energy costs is ‘getting people to actually work’.

He said: “I strongly believe that part of the answer to this problem is being much tougher on our welfare system.

“Right now, there are more people claiming unemployment benefit than there are job vacancies in the economy. 

“If there are hours to do, and if there’s a job going, people should have to take the job as opposed to just being able to stay on benefits.

“That’s the change I want to bring… and it’s good for the economy because it’ll ease inflation.”

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He went on to say that in order to bring inflation down, the country needs to ‘increase the supply of things’, adding that because inflation is in the labour market, the government must become ‘much tougher’ on welfare claimants. 

Peter Stefanovic, a lawyer from The Communications Union, slammed Sunak’s comments as ‘beyond shocking’, and pointed out that the majority of benefit claimants are either in work or seeking work.

He said: “40% of people on Universal Credit are actually in work. 56% of people in poverty are in a working family. Seven in ten children in poverty have at least one parent that works. 

“Those claiming benefits, contrary to what they appear to be suggesting, are not lazy skivers. Needing benefits is not a shameful thing.

“All of this says much more about those running the country than it does about those claiming benefits.”

This comes just weeks after leaked footage showed Sunak boasting about taking money from ‘deprived urban areas’ to benefit affluent conservative areas.