Facts

Speaking at PMQs, MP Mark Pawsey stated that “Labour has never left government with unemployment lower than when it came in.”

Between January and November 1924, when Labour was in office for the first time with Ramsay Macdonald as Prime Minister, unemployment fell by around one percentage point, from 11.9% to 10.8%.

Verdict

Mark Pawsey is making the same statement uttered by Grant Shapps on Sky News three days earlier. It was as false when he made it as when Grant Shapps did. 

We emailed Mark Pawsey’s parliamentary office offering him the chance to respond. The email was received, but no reply. 

Additional Note We observe a pattern here: Tory MPs and Ministers repeating each others’ falsehoods to attack the Labour opposition. This happens again and again with claims about Brexit, Covid etc.