Firefighting heroes pay plummets due to austerity – Cable

Sir Vince Cable has seized on Philip Hammond’s admitting that the public are “weary” of austerity by calling for an end to the public sector wage cap – which will see fire fighters an estimated £1,423 worse off in real terms by 2020/1. Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Sir Vince Cable said:  “The public pay cap was necessary to tackle the massive deficit but firefighters such as the heroes of the Grenfell Tower disaster cannot be expected to suffer real falls in living standards indefinitely. “They are already suffering a Brexit squeeze with rising prices and a falling pound. The challenge of public sector pay is an example of why Philip Hammond must win the battle within government to remain in the single market and customs union or the fall in tax revenue will make it impossible to give public sector workers the pay rises they deserve. You can't have an extreme Brexit and decent public sector pay.”