Conservative party conference: A Tory MP joked about civil servants “woke-ing from home” and it completely backfired | indy100

A Conservative MP has confirmed that he will not be embarking on a career as a comedian if politics doesn’t work out after making a joke that made absolutely no sense.

Jake Berry, who used to be the minister for the Northern Powerhouse - yes, a real job not a new power ranger - attracted immediate mirth when discussing people returning to offices as part of the gradual and hopefully permanent return to normal non-pandemic life because he claimed that civil servants were not working from home but “woke-ing”.

Former minister Jake Berry on the return to work: “We have to end the civil service ‘woke-ing’ from home - sorry I… https://t.co/JkrTfmI8Up
— Eleanor Langford (@Eleanor Langford) 1633342993

This, of course, means precisely nothing given woke is not a verb as is pretty much a meaningless term but as the Conservatives love to make jokes about so-called culture wars, he probably thought he would get a cheap laugh.

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But social media had other ideas:

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Like working from home, but WOKE-ING from home. Geddit? No, me neither. https://t.co/M9LAUpyodt
— Sharon O'Dea (@Sharon O'Dea) 1633344884

Someone’s trying to get into the @DailyMirror’s ‘joke of the day.’ Sorry Jake. I know it’s early in the day, but i… https://t.co/2HOSBHVh5Q
— Mikey Smith (@Mikey Smith) 1633344891

This the funniest joke anyone has ever made. Nice one, Jake. https://t.co/XFlGo29D7k
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE) 1633345024

— (@)

I’ve always thought my tiny desk in the corner of the living room under the mouldy bit of the ceiling had a quality… https://t.co/a33vSJGsfo
— Jennifer Williams (@Jennifer Williams) 1633345968

I hope randomly throwing non sequitur attacks on 'woke' atop already blitheringly stupid statements, in the hopes c… https://t.co/SOnA4KzaJk
— Dmitry Grozoubinski (@Dmitry Grozoubinski) 1633346530

At some point, reasonable people will have to ditch words like 'millennial' and 'woke', as they appear to have lost… https://t.co/5Mz6WOM7Tq
— Ronan Lyons (@Ronan Lyons) 1633346692

@eleanormia What on earth is he on about? Are they trying satire?
— Very Angry Half Woman Half Mince Pie 🤬🤬 (@Very Angry Half Woman Half Mince Pie 🤬🤬) 1633343559

As well as finding the idea that millennials are “woke” for being clued up on social justice issues hilarious, Conservatives have also long campaigned for people to return to offices with Rishi Sunak frequently claiming they are needed for people to learn from others.

Opponents have suggested working from home is more flexible and allows people to save time and money by cutting out the commute.

But when employers realise their staff haven’t been working from home, but “woke-ing” all along, we are sure they will demand they return to their offices with immediate effect...