Our breakfast with Jim Murphy
We were joined by former Employment Minister, Jim Murphy, to discuss what the current Government can learn from his time in office.
This month, we had the pleasure of being joined by the Rt Hon Jim Murphy for April’s Breakfast Series. In his esteemed career, Jim served as Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, as well as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Secretary of State for Scotland, and Minister for Europe. Jim is now the Founder and Executive Chair of the successful Arden Strategies. Perhaps most notably from a Jobs Foundation perspective, Jim was the Minister responsible for passing the Welfare Reform Act of 2007 which introduced the ambition of an 80 per cent employment rate, echoing the current Government’s goal.
Jim opened the breakfast by emphasising how much of a privilege it was to serve as Employment Minister in a Labour Government, following in the footsteps of the Labour giant, Nye Bevan. He then recounted the story of when he realised that he had been moved on from the role during a government reshuffle
His successor turned to him and said, “I’ve just been offered the role of Employment Minister, what do you think?
Jim responded saying that it is one of the best jobs in Government.
His successor then asked, “How do you know?”
Jim responded, “Well, until now, I was the Employment Minister!”
Noting the irony that the role of Employment Minister has perhaps less job security than any other job in the world, Jim praised the Government for tackling the vital issue of worklessness and inactivity, highlighting the need to get people back to work. He talked about how during his time in Government, he had tackled many of the same challenges that the current Government faces – emphasising that no problem is ever a new problem. However, he posited that enacting welfare reforms in the present day is far more challenging during his time in Government because of the current fiscal situation.
Jim also emphasised the role of the business community in supporting people from welfare into work, stating that any drive to get people back into employment must involve buy in from businesses to help give people a step up.
He was equally thought provoking on other topics, asking the question of whether his lifetime will span the generation of his great grandparents, where many couldn’t read or write, and the generation of his future grandchildren, who may grow up not needing to write with a pen and paper because of the power of AI – further posing argument that this is now the biggest challenge that Governments across the globe will face.
He also talked about the importance of businesses engaging with the Government to make sure their voice is heard as things like the Employment Rights Bill go through Parliament, and was optimistic that reforms would help support businesses to grow going forward.
We look forward to our next monthly breakfast, where we will be joined by Sarah Elliott to discuss the UK/US trading relationship and what this means for businesses.
