A round-up of recent fact checks compiled by Full Fact, the UK’s largest fact checking charity, examines claims made by government ministers in Parliament.
Employment rate comparison with Conservative years
In Parliament on Monday, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden twice made a claim comparing the current employment rate with that under the Conservatives. 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, 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”.
Official figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show this is not correct. The UK’s employment rate was higher in two years during the Conservatives’ 14 years in government than it is currently, and at the same level as it is currently in a further three years, when rounded to one decimal place.
The Department for Work and Pensions did not respond when contacted about Mr McFadden’s comments, but the claim is not supported by the headline employment rate data published by the ONS. The latest available estimate for 16-64 year olds, based on Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, is 75.1% from May to July 2026, with the same figure applying to the most recent quarter (Q2 2026) and the most recent full calendar year (2025).
Official figures contradict the claim
Between 2010 and 2024, the annual employment rate was higher than this twice: 75.5% in 2018 and 76.1% in 2019. In 2020, 2022 and 2023, the rate was estimated at 75.1% — the same level as currently — when rounded to one decimal place. The ONS said it does not publish unrounded annual figures, so it is not known whether the rate was slightly higher or lower in those years compared with now.
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.
Asylum hotels record challenged
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”. This is also incorrect.
The Home Office has previously said 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. The Home Office said in August 2026 that fewer than 160 hotels remained in use. Full Fact has previously fact checked a number of very similar claims from Labour politicians.
Labour has said it will close all remaining hotels being used to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament, and Full Fact is monitoring progress on this commitment as part of its Government Tracker.
