There is always a big lie at the heart of every policy this government enforces. It’s in their nature. I call it the Boris Syndrome, or Sunakitis.
The latest Whitehall whopper is that pay review bodies for public service workers are wholly independent, and their decisions are Holy Writ. Neither is true.
These outfits work within guidelines set by the Government, and their “awards” are merely recommendations that can be – and often have been in the past – set aside.
Their advice on nurses’ pay was issued many months ago, long before inflation took off like an Elon Musk rocket.
The nurses did not cause inflation. They are only its victims.
A growing body of opinion says Health Secretary Steve Barclay can – and should – revisit its recommendations, and negotiate a better, fairer deal. There is nothing to stop him doing this, in law, or policy – except a political determination to crush the RCN and health unions, as his predecessor Jeremy Hunt did with the junior doctors five years ago.
No right-thinking person can come to any other conclusion.
And it is buttressed by the fact the Government has not allowed the public conciliation service, Acas, to get involved in the pay dispute.
Tory politicians may fear a loss of face if they allow mediation to do the job they will not do. If so, Acas would be the perfect fig leaf to protect their pathetic dignity. But it need not be like that.
Pat Cullen, RCN chief, has promised to be reasonable in negotiations – if the Government shows some flexibility.
Instead of grandstanding, and pandering to right-wing MPs, ministers should take her word. The pay review body doesn’t pay the nurses’ wages. The Government does, with our taxes. And public opinion says they should be more generous with our money.
Captain sensible
“That’s football, that’s life,” said England captain Harry Kane, with commendable sang-froid, after we lost to France in the World Cup.
You don’t often hear such common sense out of the mouths of babes and children. I mean footballers. Even less frequently from gabby commentators.
A victory for the Three Lions would have been good for crisis UK.
Now it’s all over bar the recriminations and excuses.
But the razzmatazz has already started over the Euros in Germany in 2024, and the next World Cup in Canada, the US and Mexico.
It's a crime
Street marshals wearing black reflective waistcoats are to patrol Skipton during Christmas.
What? The crime rate in my nearby town is well below the national average.
Private security guards will go on patrol between 9pm and 3am. I suspect most locals are in bed by then. Town traders must fear an invasion of nocturnal numpties, possibly from Keighley.
Think I’ll stop at ’ome
