Analysis: BBC Question Time discusses Bureau’s investigation into public sector pay
Panelists on the BBC’s Question Time debated whether public sector workers should be earning more than the Prime Minister.
The question came out of research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism which found that more than 9,000 workers in the public sector earn more than the leader of the country, David Cameron.
It asked: ‘Should the 9,000 public sector workers who earn more than the Prime Minister be first in the line when spending cuts are made.’
The Business Secretary, Vince Cable replied that it was an issue that needed looking at critically. ‘We have too many people paid far too much at the top of the public sector,’ he said.
He also expressed concern about the ‘outrageously generous’ packages that have been handed out to public sector bosses, particularly those in government quangos.
The Business Secretary went on to explain why he thought pay packages at the top of the public sector have grown so rapidly. ‘There was a great deal of complacency about it. There was a race to compete with equally ludicrous salaries in the private sector. Now we have different times and we have to make sacrifices.’
Labour MP, Caroline Flint admitted that it was something our party got wrong while in government. ‘We should have done more,’ she said. ‘It has gone wrong along the way. Some of that, while in government, we got wrong.’
John Redwood, outspoken Conservative MP added that: ‘We have been mistaking ourselves by making a comparison between the public and private sectors.’
Cable said: ‘Let’s look at excessive pay at the top of the public sector.’
The debate was sparked by Bureau research into the public servants earning more than £100,000. The investigation found that just over 38,000 public sector workers made more than £100k and that 1000 earn more than £200,000. Salaries at the top have risen by more than 51 per cent in the past 10 years.
The findings were widely picked up by the the media with the Telegraph, Metro and the Daily Mail running front page stories. Other newspapers, trade publications and radio news programmes covered the investigation.
The research also formed the basis of a Panorama programme: Because We’re Worth It: The Taxpayers Rich List.
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