A red-faced Lord Young has apologised after saying that most Britons have “never had it so good” despite the “so-called recession”.
The prime minister’s enterprise adviser said that homeowners were better off after the Bank of England slashed the base rates to 0.5%, as they had seen their mortgages fall by up to £600.
Lord Young, 78, made the comments in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
He later apologised to David Cameron for his remarks after the PM said he was ‘unimpressed’ by the comments.
In a statement, Lord Young said: “I deeply regret the comments I made and I entirely understand the offence they will cause.
“They were both inaccurate and insensitive.
“Low mortgage interest rates may have eased the burden for some families in this country. But millions of families face a very difficult and anxious future as we come to grips with the deficit. I should have chosen my words much more carefully.”
In the Daily Telegraph interview, Lord Young said “For the vast majority of people in the country today, they have never had it so good ever since this recession – this so-called recession – started…”
The remarks echoed the famous comments made by Mr Macmillan in 1957 when he said: “Most of our people have never had it so good”.
