Theresa May 'agrees to lift public sector pay cap after Tory MPs march on Downing Street'
2 min read
Theresa May has agreed to lift the cap on public sector pay after Tory MPs took their case for a change in approach directly to Downing Street, it has been reported.
Twenty senior backbenchers demanded the Prime Minister to abandon the 1% limit in the Budget later this year.
The extraordinary move came after days of confusion over the Government's position on the issue - and is a further sign of Mrs May's weakness following the general election.
Among the MPs who marched on Number 10 were former Tory chairman Grant Shapps and ex-justice minister Andrew Selous.
According to The Sun, they were given an assurance by Mrs May's chief of staff Gavin Barwell that the salary review bodies which advise ministers on public sector pay will be told they can recommend an uplift of more than 1%.
The meeting was held on the same day Tory and DUP MPs joined forces to vote down a Labour bid to lift the pay cap, which has been in place since 2010 and is due to run until 2019.
One MP present at the Number 10 meeting told the paper: "Gavin told us that the PM completely accepts there needs to be some big changes of style and tone, but she can’t be seen to be pushed around by Comrade Corbyn.
"Instead, she and Philip Hammond will invite the pay review bodies to come back with bigger settlements in due course. We all came away very happy with what we heard."
Downing Street hinted that the pay policy would be abandoned on Wednesday, but was forced to backtrack after the Chancellor protested.
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