There is no justification for a public sector pay freeze but will Rishi Sunak see that?

Many workers who’ve put themselves at risk during the pandemic are still earning 1.5 per cent less in real terms than a decade ago, writes James Moore

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering a public sector pay freeze  (Reuters TV)

The backlash against the public sector pay freeze reportedly being considered by chancellor Rishi Sunak ahead of Wednesday’s spending review has been swift and fierce. Justifiably so. 

The right wing Centre for Policy Studies, whose director Robert Colville was one of the authors of the Tories’ 2019 manifesto, sought to set out the case for the move and the think tank made quite a splash with the numbers it put out.

It stated that if pay “were to be frozen across the public sector” the government could save £3.8bn in year one, £7.7bn in year two and £11.6bn in year three. Even if NHS staff were exempt from the freeze, to account for their “hard work and sacrifices during this pandemic”, the government could still save a cumulative £15.3bn over the same period.