One of the Prime Minister’s economic advisors has courted controversy after claiming that it was “as good a time” as any to be made redundant.
Lord Heseltine, a former Deputy Prime Minister, was reacting to the Government’s handling of the recent job losses in the steel industry.
The Conservative grandee argued that Britain’s economy was growing and that many new roles were being created.
“If you ignore market forces the chances are that you will have an industrial strategy based on supporting yesterday’s industry,” he said, when asked if more could be done to shore up the steel trade.
“The market is unstoppable and invariably it wins. There is an over-supply of steel and so trying to sustain individual plants is a very expensive and questionable activity.
“Very painful for the people who suffer but, on the other hand, if you are going to lose your job this is probably as good a time, because the number of new jobs in the economy today is one of the most exciting features of this economy compared with many others.”
The comments prompted a fierce backlash from a number of trade union officials and opposition politicians.
Labour MP Anna Turley was among those to criticise the remarks. She represents the constituency of Redcar, where 1,700 workers recently lost their jobs following the collapse of Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI).
“There’s never a good time to lose your job,” she said. “And [Lord Heseltine] further insults the dignity of highly skilled steel workers, many of whom have decades of experience and expertise.”