It seems, then, that it’s not just Sue Gray, Kier Starmer’s recently-resigned/moved-on/sacked top aide, whom it turned out was paid more than the PM himself. The ‘average’ civil servant earns around £100 a week more than the average, well, non-civil servant. Of course, averages can be deceptive, and I’m sure there are an awful lot at the Sue Grey end earning lots and many being abused in job centres for not much at all. And most in the government employ, interestingly enough, still belong to unions and have inflationary wage increases, a thing of the past elsewhere. But here’s an interesting thought. It use to be that a government, local authority or even NHS job would never be as well-paid as the private sector, but was for most a secure job for life with a gold-plated pension to look forward to at 60. That, too, is now a thing of the past. So it’s perhaps not surprising that they have to pay a little more to get anyone half-decent through the door.
“Rachel Reeves may be forced to raise taxes”
Why did she/they (in the old sense) think that tinkering around with IHT and CGT would be enough to sort out the NHS; and the potholes; and…and the list goes on. My guess is that they asked the Treasury for a list of anything not involving income tax that they could get away with lightly, although they should already have learned from the winter fuel stuff that all publicity is not good publicity.