• Rishi Sunak said union requests will cost each home £1,000.
• An 11% rise for public sector workers may cost £28 billion.

Rishi Sunak has been criticized for using “disingenuous” figures. After stating repeatedly that it would cost every household an additional £1,000 per year to comply with union requests for public sector pay awards.

The assertion that it will ultimately cost each household an additional £1,000 annually has been called “disingenuous.”

The prime minister declared he would not yield despite a number of planned stoppages while speaking with service members who would be sent to replace striking workers, such as ambulance drivers and border guards, at an RAF base in Lincolnshire.

“What I’m not going to do is ask ordinary families up and down the country to pay an extra £1,000 a year to meet the pay demands of the union bosses,” Sunak said. “That wouldn’t be right and it wouldn’t be fair.”

The £1,000 number, which has been cited by various ministers recently, is based on a government estimate that it would cost £28 billion to cover an 11% pay increase for all public sector employees, which would be split among 28 million UK households.

However, the estimate has come under scrutiny given that not all public employees are on strike and that rewards suggested by pay review bodies and approved by ministers often amount to roughly 5%.

Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “These disingenuous figures show just how desperate the government is to deflect blame for bringing the country to a standstill. The only reason that families are paying more tax is that Conservative ministers broke the economy.

“On the steps of Downing Street, Rishi Sunak promised his government would be one of integrity and accountability. Instead it seems he’s using Boris Johnson’s playbook and Liz Truss’s calculator.”

Sunak is still dedicated to the idea of expanding anti-strike legislation to prevent industrial action by emergency service providers like nurses and to passing legislation mandating minimum service levels for the nation’s infrastructure, like the rail network, effectively limiting the ability to strike.

“I’m not going to get into details now, we’re looking at all options,” Sunak said. “But what I can say is my priority is to always be reasonable – and that’s what we’re going to continue to do – but also to make sure we protect lives and minimize the disruption to people’s lives.”

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