NEw GMB figures show public sector workers could 'turf Tories out' in next General Election
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Leadership rivals Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd's constituencies under threat as mass rally hits London to protest pay cap.
Public sector workers will play a decisive role in the next general election, new GMB figures show.
Following Theresa May’s disastrous snap election June - which saw the conservatives lose their majority - public sector staff now outnumber the majorities of eighty five Conservative MPs.
The analysis comes ahead of a mass rally in Parliament Square tomorrow [Tuesday October 17] as unions call on Philip Hammond to drop the public sector pay cap and provide new funding to end seven years of real-terms pay cuts.
The new figures, based on the latest official estimates for public sector employment, show that:
- Public sector workers outstrip the majorities of eighty five Conservative MPs
- Prominent figures under threat include Boris Johnson, Theresa Villiers, Amber Rudd, Zac Goldsmith and Nicky Morgan
Public sector workers outnumbered the incumbent MP’s majority in eighty per cent of the seats that the Conservatives lost in June.
Theresa May's Chief of Staff, Gavin Barwell, also blamed Conservative losses on the party's failure to win the support of public sector workers.
Rehana Azam, GMB National Secretary for Public Services, said:
“Theresa May’s stubborn refusal to end the public sector pay pinch cost the Conservatives their majority.
“And if the squeeze continues, they face being turfed out of Government during the next general election.
“Warm words from ministers about easing the cap won’t cut the mustard – especially when they refuse to stump up any new money whatsoever for our vital front line public sector workers.
“Our NHS staff, teaching assistants, council workers and police staff have suffered enough – it’s time they got the proper pay rise they deserve.”
