Hard choices - Lansdowne deal rejected

Apart from pay ārestorationā, these votes are indicative of disastrous underinvestment during the crisis, political influence softening hard decisions, poor service levels and now a public sector workforce trying to recover lost ground. These expectations are probably, in our political culture at least, impossible to ignore as an election looms.
However, and no matter how public sector unions might squeal, it would be wrong to divert money so very badly needed to stabilise tottering public services to improve pay rates unless services can be improved too.