When Rishi Sunak first saw the demand from junior doctors for a 35 per cent pay rise, he thought it was a typo. Now Keir Starmer must be rubbing his eyes at the scale of spending decisions ahead of him.

The Conservatives conducted a 20-month row with junior doctors over whether a pay restoration deal to match equivalent salaries in 2008 was a reasonable demand, leading to a series of strikes. The Prime Minister is now hinting at a willingness to accept above-inflation pay demands in other parts of the public sector. As formal negotiations begin on Tuesday, is an end in sight for the fight with junior doctors?

“There’s a cost that’s measured in the pounds and pence lost to the economy through industrial action,” Starmer said on Monday when asked about public sector pay. He knows full well it’s not just an economic cost, it’s a political one too.

Labour recognises it’s on a re-election timeline; some of its new MPs were already out and about door-knocking the weekend after polling day. With results from structural reforms – such as building more houses – likely to take four to........

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