i can t be sure about. why not? we re not in government today and i can t tell you where the negotiation would conclude. you can t be a credible opposition unless you re prepared to be substantive in the way you differ from the government. sure, but on the test of credibility, i would not credibly be going into a negotiation saying, and here s where i would settle. who does that in a negotiation? i ve tried to be as straightforward as i can from opposition that we wouldn t be settling on inflation plus 5%, because we don t think it s affordable, but we would be willing to negotiate. and i think that s a fair position. it s a position that would have stopped strikes this week. and so the fact that they re going ahead, i think, rests with the government. and what s more, the government says, we re following the advice of the independent pay body, but the government sets the size of the envelope and the government sets the terms of the pay body. and at the moment, it doesn tjust appl
would conclude. you can t be a credible opposition unless you re prepared to be substantive in the way you differ from the government. sure, but on the test of credibility, i would not credibly be going into a negotiation saying, and here s where i would settle . who on earth does that in a negotiation? i ve tried to be as straightforward as i can from opposition that we wouldn t be settling on inflation plus 5% because we don t think it s affordable, but we would be willing to negotiate, and i think that s a fair position. it s a position that would ve stopped strikes this week. and so, the fact that they re going ahead, i think, rests with the government. and what s more, the government says, we re following the advice of the independent pay body, but the government sets the size of the envelope and the government sets the terms of the pay body. and at the moment, it doesn tjust apply to the nurses strike. it applies to such a wide range of issues at the moment where the governm
well, as i said, stephen, that s the one thing i can t be sure about because. why not? we re not in government today and i can t tell you where the negotiation would conclude. butjust on that test of. you can t criticise the government and be a credible opposition, unless you re prepared to be substantive in the way you differ from the government. sure. but on the test of credibility, i would not credibly be going into a negotiation saying, and here s where i would settle. who on earth does that in a negotiation? i ve tried to be as straightforward as i can from opposition that we wouldn t be settling on inflation plus 5% because we don t think it s affordable, but we would be willing to negotiate. and i think that s a fair position. it s a position that would have stopped strikes this week. and so the fact that they re going ahead, i think rests with the government. and what s more, the government says we re following the advice of the independent pay body, but the government sets the
would conclude. butjust on that test of. you can t criticise the government and be a credible opposition, unless you re prepared to be substantive in the way you differ from the government. sure. but on the test of credibility, i would not credibly be going into a negotiation, saying, and here s where i would settle. who on earth does that in a negotiation? i ve tried to be as straightforward as i can from opposition that we wouldn t be settling on inflation plus 5%, because we don t think it s affordable, but we would be willing to negotiate. and i think that s a fair position. it s a position that would have stopped strikes this week. and so the fact that they re going ahead, i think, rests with the government. and what s more, the government says we re following the advice of the independent pay body, but the government sets the size of the envelope, and the government sets the terms of the pay body. and at the moment, it doesn tjust apply to the nurses strike, it applies to such a
recommended increase, but nothing like 19%. from your perspective, how was that figure arrived at, do you think, given everything you just described? from the independent pay body, yes. i described? from the independent pay bod , es. , , body, yes. i believe this was a fi . ured body, yes. i believe this was a figured that body, yes. i believe this was a figured that was body, yes. i believe this was a figured that was arrived - body, yes. i believe this was a figured that was arrived at - body, yes. i believe this was a i figured that was arrived at earlier on in the year, perhaps around february when the state of the economy was different, not incredibly better, but different compared to now after the summer. these are the figures that were used to arrive at this figure. and a budget that ultimately the government communicates the pay review body, so there are some constraints within which the review body will be issuing that recommendation. i think that we all