Workers entitled to ask for pay rise, says Keir Starmer
Workers are entitled to ask for a pay rise after a gruelling pandemic and faced with a severe cost-of-living crisis, Keir Starmer has said as official figures showed wages falling in real terms.
The Labour leader’s call came in contrast to comments by the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, who warned this month that wage rises would fuel inflation, saying the UK needed to see “restraint in pay bargaining, otherwise it will get out of control”.
Data from the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday showed real wages fell behind increasing inflation, which is likely to exacerbate the cost-of-living squeeze from rising prices, high energy bills and a national insurance rise this April.
In an interview with the Guardian on Tuesday, Starmer also said:
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Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, made the right decision to force out Cressida Dick as commissioner of the Metropolitan police.
Dozens of Conservative MPs had been in private contact with him expressing dismay at Boris Johnson’s false claim he had failed to prosecute the child abuser Jimmy Savile.
In veiled criticism of Bailey’s comments on pay, Starmer said it was reasonable for workers to demand higher wages but said he wanted to put the main onus on the government to tackle the cost of living. “It’s very difficult to universally say to people – you are not entitled to even ask for a pay rise,” he said.
Bailey’s remarks, which were prompted by fears that higher wage demands could push companies to increase prices further, sparked widespread criticism including from trade unions and the chair of Tesco, plus a rebuke from Downing
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