Theresa May is being urged by cabinet ministers to sack testosterone-fuelled “donkeys” and “indulgent safe-seat kids” behind a series of hostile leaks against the chancellor.
She will tell warring colleagues that they are ushering Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, into Downing Street as she seeks to reimpose discipline at a cabinet meeting today.
Her intervention comes after three days of leaks and briefings, including claims that Philip Hammond told the cabinet last week that public sector workers were overpaid.
It can be revealed that the chancellor is examining a compromise on public sector remuneration under which the lowest-paid workers could receive a bigger annual rise than higher-earning colleagues without increasing overall staff budgets.
Treasury “remit letters” are due to be sent within weeks to boards that set three million public sector workers’ salaries. They are likely to instruct them to prioritise those paid the least next year, while keeping inside the 1 per cent cap on rises. The cap itself will be reviewed in this autumn’s budget. The effort to put a stop to Tory infighting came as:
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• School budgets received a £1.3 billion boost yesterday in another Treasury-brokered compromise, with some of the extra cash diverted from planned new free schools and grammars.
• David Davis, the Brexit secretary, was accused of snubbing Brussels by leaving formal talks hours after they began.
• Dominic Cummings, a leading ally of Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said that Mr Davis was as “thick as mince, lazy as a toad and as vain as Narcissus”.
Mr Hammond faces pressure over his perceived “soft” Brexit stance and insistence on austerity against the backdrop of speculation over how long Mrs May can remain in Downing Street.
Those blamed for the attacks include allies of Mr Davis and Mr Gove as well as Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary. One cabinet minister told The Times that figures responsible for the leaks had not had to fight for their place in politics, blaming “too much testosterone” from the “proverbial donkeys” who are “able to behave like indulgent safe-seat kids, not worrying about the impact of their behaviour”. The source added: “They are creating the parliamentary party mood for a full reshuffle to remove them and then have a relaunch.”
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Another cabinet minister said that “stupid games, whether by Brexiteers or free-spending departmental ministers” should end, and it would be “good” if those responsible were sacked. In another sign that those responsible for destabilising Mrs May had misjudged the mood of the party, a senior minister said: “The backbenchers hate plotting and the plotters.”
While Mr Davis, Mr Johnson and Mr Gove have denied any part in the briefings, infighting among their supporters continued. Mr Cummings, the former Vote Leave chief, took aim at Mr Davis yesterday, accusing him of preparing a “sell-out” on Brexit and describing him as the “perfect stooge”.
A cabinet minister was quoted as accusing Mr Hammond of trying to “f*** up” Brexit, and treating pro-Leave ministers like “pirates who have taken him prisoner”. The chancellor dismissed “noise generated by people who are not happy with the agenda that I have tried to advance”.
Mrs May will attempt to use today’s cabinet meeting to reassert her authority. “Cabinet must be able to hold discussions of government policy in private and the prime minister will be reminding her colleagues of that,” her spokesman said.
Ministers have yet to agree how to prioritise the least well-paid workers in next year’s settlements. One option could be to hand all staff a flat cash sum equivalent to 1 per cent of median salary. The lowest-paid nurses could receive about £554 more than under the present plans while the highest paid would lose £978.
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How public workers lose out
How much more workers in the public sector would earn if pay rises had kept pace with the CPI measure of inflation since 2010
Crown prosecutor £4,400
Paramedic £3,888
NHS specialist dietician £3,858
Prison officer £3,819
Firefighter £2,888
Nuclear maintenance engineer £2,591
Teacher £2,414
Lifeguard £2,200
NHS ancillary staff £897
Source: TUC