UK Edition
Conservatives need to copy Greggs to beat Jeremy Corbyn, says Tory MP
The Conservatives need to take inspiration from Greggs to beat Labour at the next election, a rising star Tory MP has said.
Tom Tugendhat, tipped as a future leader, hailed the high street bakery for the way its staff were able to share in its profits.
Speaking to the Social Market Foundation think tank, he suggested using public money to reward companies who reward their staff "like Greggs".
Mr Tugendhat said: “I like the way it's run. The employees of that bakery get a share not just in the profit of their own labour but in the output of the firm as a whole.
"After six months they get profit share and a chance to take part in a share save scheme that allows them to buy in at a discounted rate."
He said tax breaks for profit sharing should be considered by the Government, while commuters could be given a legal say over the running of train services.
Outlining a form of “Community Conservatism”, he said the Tories had to have a more robust response to Jeremy Corbyn’s plans to nationalise 10 per cent of British industry.
He said: “Too many businesses sadly forget that their duty is to serve a wider community and not just to turn a profit, and that means not exploiting the most vulnerable.”
Mr Tugendhat also admitted the Tories had a problem with reaching out to black and minority voters.
“We have got a problem in our party at the moment with reaching out to black and ethnic minority communities.”
“A lot of that is because many people think we don’t think that this country is for them, we don’t think that they belong and that’s just plain wrong.”
Asked whether the speech was a leadership bid, the Tonbridge and Malling MP replied: "I'm not going to go through the usual humbug of 'there's no opening, there's no job'.
"I got into politics to change my country. I got into politics because I care about the people and communities we live in. I got into politics because this is my home."
He added: "It's not a leadership bid, it's a bid to change the country."