Rees-Mogg spoke to the Mail on Sunday to say Truss’s comment was “reasonable” and reflected “poor productivity in the British economy”. It comes after he has already publicly criticized what he calls a “rotten culture” of working from home. The Brexit opportunity minister has indicated he will move to a cabinet post as incoming or trade minister if Truss wins the leadership race against Rishi Sunak. Truss’s comments were leaked to the guardian in a recording from her time as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2017-2019, the leadership candidate tried to explain the lower productivity seen outside London. He said it was down to “a matter of mindset and attitude.” Truss continued: “There is a fundamental issue with British work culture. Essentially, if we are going to be a richer country and a more prosperous country, that has to change. But I don’t think people want to change that.” He added that there is “a little thing in Britain about wanting easy answers”. He continued: “But actually what needs to happen is more … more graft. It’s not a popular message.” Defending Truss as a key ally of the Tory leadership candidate, Rees-Mogg said the comments “have drawn mixed political criticism but reflect an unfortunate reality in much of the British state”. He added: “This is not good for the government or for the public as a whole.” This comes off the back of Rees-Mogg decrying the number of people currently going to Whitehall to work. Last week he said the number of people in the office was down five percent from the previous week, he reports the Mail. Numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels. “Even taking into account the summer holidays, this is hopeless,” he said. Truss also spoke to the Mail on Sunday about the leaked comments. He said: “I have always had a passion to help our country become more successful. I want people to have opportunities. Of course I believe in hard work. “I want our government to be on the side of hard-working people who are creating their own businesses.” The Labor Party called Truss’s comments “grossly offensive”, accusing her of making British workers “lazy”.
