How much we all wish that the doctors, nurses, and paramedics who bore the brunt of the pandemic could be given a pay rise greater than the three per cent they have been offered.
It would be wonderful to be able to say to them: go on, have a holiday with us – you deserve it.
But sadly, the public finances are in no fit state for generous pay awards.
Unions, demanding hikes of between 12 and 15 per cent for health workers – and threatening to strike if they don’t get it – are being deeply irresponsible.
Where do they think all the extra-national wealth needed for such awards would come from? The economy shrank by nearly 10 percent last year.
While tax revenues plummeted, fighting Covid imposed huge extra costs on the taxpayer. The result was a public deficit of nearly £300billion in the last financial year.
We are still a long, long way from closing the gap between revenue and expenditure. In June alone, the Government spent £22.8billion more than it received in revenue.
As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, the Government is borrowing as much as it was in 1946 when we had just finished six years fighting a world war.
This story is from the July 23, 2021 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 23, 2021 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TIME TO SHOW I'M THE DADDY
Arteta's bid for title continues against 'father figure' Mauricio
Fletcher's trophy talk fired up Fernandes
DARREN GAVE UNITED A FINAL PUSH FOR GLORY
SELBY TO WEIGH UP HIS FUTURE
Four-time champion needs a break after O'Connor shock
LIGHT ON FOR REPEAT
Williams' chaser bids for a famous Gold Cup double
D-Day vet dies after revisiting beaches
D-DAY hero Harry Howarth has died at 103, weeks after fulfilling a lifetime ambition to pay his respects to fallen comrades at Sword Beach.
Let us bring back beavers ...instead of killing them
LICENCES to release beavers into the wild are being \"cruelly\" blocked which leaves them at risk of being killed by farmers, say campaigners.
Children under 5 among 50 treated in hospitals for vaping illnesses
CHILDREN as young as four are being treated in hospital after falling ill from vaping, figures have revealed.
Hundreds of bodies uncovered at mass graves in Gaza Strip
HUNDREDS of Palestinian bodies have been discovered in a series of mass graves in southern Gaza.
MP demands new minister to protect the national flag
ENGLISH and British national identity is \"under attack\", a Tory MP has warned.
Thames Water threat to hike customer bills by £50 a month
CAMPAIGNERS yesterday accused Thames Water of making the public pay for its failures following plans to raise customers' bills by £50 a month.