GMB: Gary Neville and Edwina Currie clash over employment
Today, the government has decided to end the uplift to universal credit implemented at the beginning of the start of the pandemic, leaving some families missing out on as much as £20 a week.Good Morning Britain ’s Alastair Campbell and Susanna Reid welcomed Edwina Currie and Gary Neville onto the ITV show today to discuss the cuts, with the former claiming people should merely return to work while the latter insisted it was “brutal” to implement the cuts at this time.
Related articles
Game of Thrones backlash: Fans snub House of Dragon trailer after S8
Drivers pulling Insulate Britain off roads demanded to be arrested Stating her case, Edwina insisted there was plenty of jobs up and down the country which those who claim universal credit should be applying for.
“What we have to realise is that we’ve got something like a million vacancies being advertised in the country, we’ve got a record number of vacancies.
“We have whole industries desperate for people to come into work, from catering to the care industry to food processing – businesses are absolutely desperate and pushing up wages.
“So it doesn’t make any kind of sense to pay people to stay home,” Edwina added but Susanna was quick to point out not everyone on universal credit is out of work.
READ MORE: Dan Walker sparks uproar with Boris Johnson’s BBC Breakfast interview
GMB: Edwina Currie and Gary Neville clash on ITV show (Image: ITV)
GMB: Edwina and Gary weren’t in agreement (Image: ITV) READ MORE
Dan Walker sparks uproar with Boris Johnson’s BBC Breakfast interview The GMB host even read aloud account from ITV viewers who are in full-time work and on the benefit who revealed how hard the cut would hit them.
Gary soon chimed in to blast Edwina for her comments as well as the Conservative Party as a whole.
“I trust the population of this country,” Gary said.“I work on the theory that people aren’t sitting at home lazy.
“They really want a good job, they really want to get paid, they really want their mental health to be sorted, they don’t want to live off the chancellor’s money.”
GMB: Gary Neville blasted the cuts (Image: ITV)
GMB: Edwina Currie said people should get back to work (Image: ITV) “Honestly, to remove universal credit payments at this moment in time is brutal, let’s be clear,” he added.
However, as the debate edged towards its climax, Edwina and Gary found themselves talking over one another as a row ensued.
“Businesses are looking for people to come and work, why don’t you go and recruit those people and help them and make sure they have the money they’ve earned, there’s nothing better than knowing that you’ve earned the money to put the food on the table,” Edwina blasted as Gary tried to interject.
Taking issue with her claims to get people into the catering industry, specifically, Gary pointed out: “Edwina, you can’t be a chef in 10 minutes, by the way.
DON’T MISS:
Andi Peters walks off GMB after Laura Tobin spat
Conservative blasts back at Alastair Campbell over honesty debate
GMB viewers ‘switch off’ as Alastair Campbell replaces Richard Madeley
Related articles
Dan Walker replaced on BBC Breakfast as Charlie Stayt steps in
Sally Nugent skewers Dominic Raab in car crash interview “It takes months, we need lots of people in our kitchens as restaurants do -“ he tried to continue before Edwina cut him off: “No, but you can be a kitchen porter in 10 minutes!”
Edwina continued to talk over Gary, prompting Alastair to interject: “Let him speak!”
And Gary was quickly blown away by Edwina’s claims as he hit back: “Oh, my God, it’s a scandal.
“Honestly, for you to say that someone should just go and be a kitchen porter, honestly, it’s ridiculous.”
Trending READ MORE
Andi Peters walks off GMB after Laura Tobin spat The debate certainly divided viewers at home too, as @LfcLee08 said on Twitter: “I completely agree with edwina, she has made more sense in 10 min than @GMB and @GNev2 have in the last 10 years.”
Luke Newman weighed in: “This shows the difference between the rich and poor.Me & my wife both work, we’ve been told than we aren’t entitled to universal credit, which means we can’t afford childcare! The bills are increasing, but wages aren’t! In fact they are going down! #gmb #goodmorningbritain.”
While Sally fumed: “I’m a single mum on UC working full time as a civil servant.Can I just go and ask for more from our government? (my employer) the real world doesn’t work like that.”
And Ruth admitted: “Both hubby & I work hard for government departments in some form.We still need UC as our wages don’t match cost of living.Been on pay freeze for yrs whilst everything else rises.Not everyone on UC are lazy scroungers.” (sic)
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
Related articles Alastair Campbell moans ‘Am I not entitled to an opinion?’ Susanna Reid erupts at road protesters in face of crying woman Ben Shephard details pal Julia Bradbury’s ‘tough journey ahead’.
