Yahoo Finance Multi-millionaire former PM David Cameron brands austerity critics 'selfish'
Former prime minister David Cameron has waded into the debate on public sector pay, accusing critics of austerity of being “selfish”.
Cameron, whose net worth was estimated at £10 million before even becoming prime minister, made the comments amid pressure being piled on the Treasury to ditch the 1% cap on pay rises for public sector workers.
As prime minister, Cameron introduced a two-year public sector pay rise before rolling out the 1% cap.
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Chancellor Philip Hammond has refused to back down on the government’s stance on public sector pay but noted that the Treasury was “continually” assessing the balance between being fair to public servants and taxpayers who fund their wages.
“The opponents of so-called austerity couch their arguments in a way that make them sound generous and compassionate,” Cameron said during a speech at the Asian Leadership Conference on South Korea.
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“They seek to paint the supporters of sound finances as selfish, or uncaring. The exact reverse is true.
“Giving up on sound finances isn’t being generous, it’s being selfish: spending money today that you may need tomorrow.”
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt is among Cabinet members seemingly urging Theresa May to rethink the government’s approach to public sector pay. He said he had “a great deal of sympathy” for nurses demands for higher rises, while a government source said this week that Boris Johnson supported “the idea of public sector workers getting a better pay deal”.
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And on Monday, policing minister Nick Hurd told the House of Commons there was an “active discussion” under way to ensure frontline workers are paid fairly.
Mr Hammond told business leaders on Monday evening that there had to be a “grown-up” debate about how to meet demands for improved public services.
“Our policy on public sector pay has always been designed to strike the right balance between being fair to our public servants and fair to those who pay for them,” he told a CBI dinner.
“That approach has not changed; and we continually assess that balance.
“But we do, of course, recognise that the British people are weary after seven years’ hard slog repairing the damage of the Great Recession.”
