Keir Starmer indicators assist for public sector pay rises with strikes warning

Keir Starmer has hinted millions of public sector workers are in line of an above-inflation pay rise – saying avoiding more strikes is an “important consideration”.

The PM said he would take a “sensible approach” after independent pay boards recommended a 5.5% hike for teachers and many NHS workers. This is well above the 2% inflation rate in May and June.

But he refused to say whether he would defy the recommendations by offering a lower figure. Quizzed by The Mirror, Mr Starmer said: “Let me start by saying how much I respect the contribution that public sector workers make to our economy. I think it’s very important that we start with that basic respect.”

He continued: “We will take a sensible approach. We will consider the recommendations and make an annoucement in due course. As you know the Chancellor is doing a full analysis of the financial constraints and challenges. I’ll be making announcements in due course in relation to this.”

Asked whether he agrees with Chancellor Rachel Reeves that there’s a cost in not preventing strikes, he said: “Yes, I do. And, I think that’s important consideration.”

He continued: “There’s a cost that’s measured in the pounds and pence lost to the economy through industrial action. There’s a cost to the other work that we need to do in relation to the public services that we need to deliver and that has to be taken account of as we come to a final decision in relation to the pay issue which we will do and announce with full reasoning in due course.”

It comes after Ms Reeves told the BBC there is a “cost to not settling, a cost of further industrial action, and a cost in terms of the challenge we face recruiting”. She said pay rises will be awarded “in a proper way and make sure the sums add up” – vowing not to break her strict financial rules.

It is estimated that offering teachers and certain NHS staff a 5.5% rise could cost the Government £3billion. Ministers are expected to make a decision on recommendations from public sector pay review bodies by the end of the month, setting salary levels for staff, including NHS staff, teachers, police officers and the armed forces.

Health staff were due a pay rise in April, and lower paid Band 2 roles like nursing assistants and domestic support workers currently earn only a penny above the minimum wage. Ms Reeves could be forced to find an extra £7billion-per-year to foot the bill, to prevent millions of public sector staff from slipping further behind their private sector counterparts, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Meanwhile the Prime Minister sidestepped questions on whether he would scrap the two-child benefit cap amid backbench anger of the cruel policy. The restrictions, imposed by the Tories, mean families can’t claim child tax credits or Universal Credit for any other children after their first two kids.

MPs are attempting to amend the King’s Speech to force through a change – but it is more a signal of anger as it is extremely unlikely to be successful. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson today said the government will “consider” removing the two-child benefit cap, in a shift in the Government’s language.

She told Sky News: “Unfortunately it’s also a very expensive measure, but we will need to consider it as one of a number of levers in terms of how we make sure we lift children out of poverty. Housing is a big factor…

“The fact that for lots of families work doesn’t pay in the way that it should, and that increasingly what we see is that children are growing up in poverty where there is at least one person in that household in work. We will look at every measure in terms of how we can address this terrible blight that scars the life chances of too many children.”