The Chancellor has refused to bow to pressure to propose fresh pay offers after official figures showed strike action is holding back economic growth
“The worst possible thing that we can do for junior doctors, nurses, train drivers, [and] teachers is to manage the economy in a way that they are still worried about 10 per cent cost of living increases in a year’s time,” he added.
“These were offset by the effects of Civil Service and teachers’ strike action, which impacted the public sector, and unseasonably mild weather led to falls in the use of electricity and gas.” Mr Hunt said the UK was “in a much stronger position than we thought we would be in the autumn”, despite forecasts by the IMF this week that the country will perform worst out of G7 countries this year.
Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The reality of growth inching along is families worse off, high streets in decline, and a weaker economy that leaves us vulnerable to shocks.”
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