“Tell Oliver Dowden to get on his Peloton & peddle off”
(Picture: Getty Images)Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden insulted thousands of civil servants by saying, “people need to get off their Pelotons and back to their desks.”
The comments come after Sarah Healey, the permanent secretary at Dowden’s former department, said she preferred working from home because she could make productive use of her free time and cycle on her Peloton bike.
Healey told a conference last month, “I have a Peloton and I can just get on my bike whenever I have a teeny bit of time,” according to the Daily Mail.
“That has been a huge benefit to my well-being, the lack of travelling time eating into my day.”
In response, the ex-culture secretary, who was moved during last month’s cabinet reshuffle, said: “I like my permanent secretary at DCMS enormously, Sarah Healey, but I am disagreeing with her on this one.
“I think people need to get off their Pelotons and get back to their desks.”
Dowden added that workers should “lead by example” and return to the office.
Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
The Conservative Party chairman has told people to "get off their pelotons and back to their desks".
— Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC) October 5, 2021
Speaking at a Fringe event at the party conference, Oliver Dowden said civil servants needed to lead by example and get back to offices. #cpc2021
His out-of-touch comments were slammed across Twitter.
After all, it’s unlikely for civil servants, who are on a median salary of around £28,180, to prioritise a £2,000 exercise bike with additional subscription fees in the hundreds, if not thousands.
“I know ZERO people with a Peloton,” one tweeted. “These lot live in a bubble.”
While another highlighted the confusion of who Dowden was “trying to appeal to.”
“Basic Peloton costs £1,350 upwards, much more at the height of the pandemic. Many working class people worked all the way through. Not sure who he’s dissing here and who he’s trying to appeal to”, they said.
Another added, “This is just weird framing. 0.5% of the population has a peloton sub (I looked it up)”.
Food £200
— Rey Morfin (@ReyMorfin) October 5, 2021
Data £150
Rent £700
Peloton £2,000
Utilities £150
someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying https://t.co/Po3nxfbCUu
Fun fact: most civil servants don't earn enough to afford a peloton https://t.co/cvtNpxyRkV
— 🧛🏻♂️ kristopher lee 🧛🏻♂️ (@k_d85) October 5, 2021
I don’t think I know many actual civil servants who could afford a peloton. And those who can have long since returned to the office. https://t.co/UQSlq9f0vS
— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) October 5, 2021
Nice to see Oliver Dowden lives in the real world with the real people 😏
— kerry ✊💙 (@hewitson10) October 5, 2021
Civil Servants don’t earn enough to buy a Peloton , just another sign of how out of touch the tories are!
An entrance price Peloton costs £1,350
P.S #CovidIsNotOver , 166 people died today, 777 is 7 days pic.twitter.com/tWx1iFEmrU
I can assure him,us Civil Servants not had any time to sit on anything apart from our office chairs wfh. We have been working very hard to support the people in need during this pandemic.What wages does government think we’re on that we can have a Peloton,we’re on a wage freeze?!
— marni russell (@marnirussell) October 5, 2021
If I work at home am I supposed to be on a Peloton?
— Sarah Hurst (@Life_Disrupted) October 5, 2021
doesn't a peloton sub cost like £80 per month?
— Sloane (@SloaneFragment) October 5, 2021
tories exist in an alternate reality. they legit have no idea how regular ppl live. https://t.co/W3L78veDxi
One Twitter user put it politely and said: “I do hope civil servants politely tell @OliverDowden to get on his peloton & peddle off.”
Boris Johnson is expected to repeat the “get back to work” message on Wednesday during his conference speech.
