A Conservative MP has drawn criticism for telling a nurse he would not support a public sector pay increase because it was being spearheaded by Labour “Marxists”.
A nurse wrote to the Charles Walker, MP for Broxbourne, asking him to support a Labour amendment to the Queen’s Speech that would have lifted the cap.
But the politician rejected the request, saying: “There is simply no chance of me, elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament, supporting any amendment tabled by the Labour Party while it is led by the Marxist duo of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.
“Two people who have consistently sided with the enemies of our country and have total contempt for its institutions of governance and law.
He continued: “If the Labour Party wants to be taken seriously it needs to be led by serious people. People who have the gravitas and standing of past Labour giants such as Attlee, Bevan, Blair and Brown.”
Chris Williamson, Labour MP for Derby North described the letter as “pathetic”, saying the message demonstrated the Conservative Party was “unfit to represent the public”.
MPs voted against a Labour amendment to the Queen’s Speech to force the Government to drop the pay cap on public sector workers in June.
But Mr Walker’s comments, made shortly after the vote, emerged amid growing calls for wage increases from within the Tory party.
Pay rises for five million public sector workers have effectively been capped at 1 per cent since 2013. Prior to that, wages were frozen for two years for all but the lowest-paid workers.
The Tories proposed maintaining the cap until 2020 during the election campaign, but after losing their majority, senior party members have called for a new strategy.
Ministers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have both said the cap should be dropped and said there was a "fiscally responsible" was of doing so.
Cabinet ministers are reportedly calling for more funding for their departments, with Education Secretary Justine Greening demanding £1bn and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt calling for more cash for NHS staff, The Observer reported.
In the face of mounting pressure, Downing Street said on Sunday the Government would consider potential increases for nurses, police officers and firefighters on a ”case by case" basis.
Mr Corbyn – who campaigned on an anti-austerity message before the election – called Ms May’s handling of the cap issue a “shambles”.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested increasing public sector pay in line with the private sector would cost £6bn a year by 2019/20.
