UK government produces public sector pay offer that pleases no one

The government’s 5 per cent pay offer to public sector workers was an attempt to address a host of pressing problems — staff shortages, looming strike action, rising inflation and the squeeze on household budgets — while still leaving the next UK prime minister enough fiscal firepower to cut taxes. In the event, it has pleased no one.

But the government’s partial concession to workers’ demands reflects the fact that market…