Zahawi tells teachers and nurses to 'be disciplined' amid calls for pay rise
12 July 2022, 20:42 | Updated: 12 July 2022, 20:49
Tory leadership candidate Nadhim Zahawi has urged teachers and nurses to "be disciplined about pay" amid rising inflation.
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Public sector workers are growing increasingly angered over delays to pay rises, which they are demanding are at least in line with spiralling inflation.
There are concerns any deals on pay will be further delayed following Boris Johnson's resignation, with a new prime minster not set to be in place until September.
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The Chancellor told LBC: "This is a time where I have to say to all public sector workers, teachers, nurses, everyone else... we have to be disciplined about pay. That's how I bring inflation down."
He added that "we all have to work together to tackle inflation because if we don't it's hugely harmful".
"What we have to do is bear down on inflation," he said.
Just weeks ago, when serving as education secretary, Mr Zahawi was lobbying for increased teachers pay after pledging to raise starting salaries in the profession by 9%.
Mr Zahawi is one of the eight remaining candidates who are through to the next round of the Tory leadership contest.
'Because I felt that the stewardship of the economy has to be uppermost in my priority list.'
— LBC (@LBC) July 12, 2022
Tory leadership contender Nadhim Zahawi on why he didn't offer his resignation as Boris Johnson's Chancellor.@IainDale | @nadhimzahawi pic.twitter.com/4HezkPkd4s
He also told Iain Dale that he put country before party by calling for Mr Johnson's resignation last week.
He submitted a letter just 24 hours after he was promoted to Chancellor, which is thought to have been the final straw for the Prime Minister.
He said: "By Wednesday afternoon it became obvious to me that so many ministers had resigned, it was becoming nigh on impossible to form a functioning government and I decided to go to No 10 and meet with the Prime Minister and to say to him that I think it’s going to be impossible for us to continue as a functioning government.
"I felt it was right and my responsibility to say to my friend that he needs to think about his position and decide on that and control that situation rather than have it transcend into chaos."
But he added that it would have been "irresponsible" for him to have destabilised the Treasury by resigning.
