Rory Stewart, "We're in an unbelievable hole.. 9.2 million economically inactive people.. That's 1 in 7 aged under 65 who aren't children"
"We're complete European outliers.. The rest of Europe sorted itself after covid, we didn't"
"Nobody has a clue of why it's happening, it's really wierd"
"1 in 20 on disability benefits in Windsor.. 1 in 6 are on disability benefits in Blackpool.. So it has some connection to poverty and region"
"Part of the problem might be that we've created a really rubbish working environment.. Jobs are poorly paid.. Stressful.. People in the UK work longer hours than they do in Europe, for less money"
"So its not surprising that 9.2 million people are not keen to re enter the workforce"