Will public sector pay rises stop the strikes?

That Rishi Sunak chose to announce his decision to give public sector workers a 5 to 7 per cent pay rise with a press conference tells you everything you need to know. There is no requirement for him to be anywhere near a pay announcement: indeed, it was chief secretary to the Treasury John Glen who made the statement in the Commons. But Sunak clearly thinks there is a big political win here for him in dealing with the ongoing strikes.

Sunak confirmed in his opening statement that ‘we are accepting the headline recommendations of the Pay Review bodies in full but we will not fund them by borrowing more, or increasing your taxes’. It means that teachers will get a 6.5 per cent raise, junior doctors will get 6 per cent and a lump sum of £1,250 each, police and prison officers 7 per cent, and the armed forces between 5 and 6 per cent.