Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
3 of 16 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Evening Standard's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
He told a Conservative MP that “the employment rate in the UK is higher today than in all but one of the 14 years when his party was in power”, then in response to a different question moments later said “the employment rate in the UK today is higher than in every year but one of the Conservatives’ 14 years in power”.
asserted
rate → tell → power
This isn’t correct, according to official figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
uncertain
This → accord → Statistics
They show that the UK’s employment rate was higher in two years during the Conservatives’ 14 years in government than it is currently.
asserted
it → show → government
It was also at the same level as it is currently in a further three years, when rounded to one decimal place.
asserted
it → round → place
We contacted the Department for Work and Pensions about Mr McFadden’s comments, and did not receive a response.
asserted
We → contact → response
But his claim is not supported by the headline employment rate data published by the ONS.
uncertain
claim → support → ONS
The latest available estimate of the employment rate for 16-64 year olds, based on Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, is that it was 75.1% from May to July 2026.
uncertain
it → base → July
The same figure also applies to the most recent quarter (Q2 2026) and the most recent full calendar year (2025).
asserted
figure → apply → quarter
In 2020, 2022 and 2023, the employment rate was estimated to be 75.1% — the same level as it is currently — when rounded to one decimal place.
asserted
it → estimate → place
The ONS told us it does not publish unrounded annual figures, so we don’t know whether the rate was slightly higher or lower in these years compared with currently.
asserted
rate → tell → years
It’s worth noting that LFS data was affected by lower than usual response rates after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ONS advises caution when assessing changes over time periods.
asserted
ONS → ’ → periods
On Wednesday, Home Office minister Jo White claimed in Parliament that the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers “has fallen from 400 when we came into power to fewer than 160”.
asserted
we → claim → 160
The Home Office has previously said that the number of hotels in use peaked at “over 400 in summer 2023”, under the previous Conservative government, but it had fallen to 213 by the time Labour came to power in July 2024.
asserted
Labour → say → July
The Home Office said in August 2026 that fewer than 160 hotels remained in use.
asserted
hotels → say → use
Labour has said it will close all remaining hotels being used to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament.
asserted
it → say → parliament
Full Fact is monitoring progress on this commitment as part of its Government Tracker.
asserted
Fact → monitor → Tracker
The Aporia
