Ex-minister Jake Berry accuses civil servants of 'woke-ing from home'

Former minister Jake Berry accuses civil servants of ‘woke-ing from home’ instead of returning to Whitehall offices full-time

• Jake Berry made remark at the Conservatives Party Conference in Manchester
• The 42-year-old was speaking at a fringe event run by the Taxpayers Alliance
• Father-of-three was Northern Powerhouse Minister between 2017 and 2020 

A former minister accused civil servants of ‘woke-king from home’ today and demanded they be brought back to work in Whitehall full-time.

Jake Berry, who was Northern Powerhouse Minister for three years until quitting last year, made the remark at the Conservatives Party Conference in Manchester.

The 42-year-old Rossendale and Darwen MP was speaking at a fringe event run by the Taxpayers Alliance about saving the UK high street.

He is said to have told the audience: ‘We have to end the civil service ”woke-ing” from home – sorry I mean working from home, but let’s be honest, it often is woke-ing.’

His comments come amid a furious row over the rate of return of civil servants to their offices. 

Jake Berry, who was Northern Powerhouse Minister for three years until quitting last year, made the remark at the Conservatives Party Conference in Manchester.

The 42-year-old Rossendale and Darwen MP was speaking at a fringe event run by the Taxpayers Alliance about saving the UK high street amid the slow return of civil servants to the office (Whitehall pictured in September)

They have faced continued pressure from Tory ministers to spend less time at home as the Covid pandemic eases.

However, his remarks may be at odds with the views of the wider public.

Last month more than two thirds of people polled believe workers will never return to the office full-time.

Around 70 per cent of people surveyed by YouGov for the BBC said workers would ‘never return to offices at the same rate’ as before the pandemic.

But Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have played up the benefits of a return, amid fears over the impact on city centre businesses. 

However, Downing Street distanced itself from his remarks today. The PM’s spokesman told reporters: ‘It is right that a large number of civil servants have made a real impact on the response to the pandemic and delivering for the public while working from home.

‘That said, the Prime Minister has said there are significant benefits to office working and they should not be discounted. That’s why we are encouraging all employers to start steadily bringing in their workforce, as we are at this stage of the epidemic.’

Mr Berry had earlier  said that the Government’s decision to end the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit ‘is really, really difficult for people’.The 

The chairman of the Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs warned of the impact of taking away ‘this additional £1,000 a year’, adding that ‘most families live up to their income’.

Asked about the national insurance rise and the ending of the Universal Credit uplift, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Well we’ve got more people than ever because of course many people fell into Universal Credit through no fault of their own during the Covid pandemic, and I just think most families live up to their income.’

He added: ‘Frankly many people have had this additional £1,000 a year as part of their day-to-day spend income in their budget and to take that away from them, and I understand it was always temporary, but people won’t have treated it like that, it would just be part of their income, I think is really, really difficult for people.’

The MP for Rossendale and Darwen said he supported initiatives assisting people to get a job, but added: ‘It slightly glosses over the fact that most people in receipt of Universal Credit are in work and of course national insurance is a tax on being in work. While I welcome any jobs being created anywhere in this country, it’s a great thing for our economy, it doesn’t actually answer the question.’

Mr Berry warned about inflation pressures, noting ‘if your wage isn’t going up at the same time as prices are going up, you’re getting poorer aren’t you?’

He said: ‘The GDP per capita difference between the South East and the poorest areas of the North is greater than between East and West Germany before the Berlin Wall fell down, so absolutely we want to see wages going up.

‘But if wages are going up at the same time as prices are going up, I think the Chancellor said yesterday inflation kept him up at night, I’m sure it keeps loads of families up at night who are managing their budget, then it will only work if the salary for all jobs goes up… if your wage isn’t going up at the same time as prices are going up, you’re getting poorer aren’t you?’

Mr Berry argued that levelling up had to tackle the ‘huge disparity between the North and the South’.

He said: ‘If you’re born in the north of England you will probably leave school with one GCSE grade worse, you’ll have a lower income throughout your life and statistically you’ll have worse health outcomes and I think that shows what living in London and the South East is a privilege for many, I know many of them won’t feel like that.’

The MP added: ‘I think if levelling up is going to work, we need to end that huge disparity between the North and the South.’

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