All Sir James Dyson wanted was to do what hundreds of business people and lobbyists have done before him: spend a little time with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and have a good old moan – initially about research and development tax relief but then extending to other subjects such as corporation tax, high levels of public spending and – according to reports – the number of diversity managers in the NHS.
But Jeremy Hunt’s reaction seems to have taken him aback. Apparently exasperated by Dyson’s list of complains at a Downing Street meeting last week, the Chancellor told Dyson that if he didn’t like the government he should seek to become an MP himself.
Is that really how government ministers should treat voters, not least those who create jobs and bring wealth to the country? Somehow, I don’t think Hunt would be impressed if he took back a malfunctioning vacuum cleaner and was told by the retailer: if you don’t like it, why don’t you set up your own company manufacturing them? I can’t imagine, either, Hunt having the guts to be quite so rude to an NHS diversity manager who found himself at a Downing Street event.
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