Inflation-busting pay rises are “unaffordable”, cabinet minister Mark Harper has told Sky News in the face of strikes in the public sector.

The transport secretary said there “simply isn’t the money” to fund such wage hikes given the current economic situation.

His comments came as nurses are set to stage their first-ever UK-wide strike next month, unless they get a 19% rise.

Read more:
Who is striking this winter and why?

They will join transport and postal workers on the picket lines in a widening dispute over pay and conditions.

Speaking to the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, Mr Harper said: “I think we want to try and give all the workers in the public sector who work very hard decent pay rises, but they can’t be inflation-busting pay rises.

“There simply isn’t the money to pay for those given the context, we haven’t seen those in the private sector either, the private sector pay rises have generally been settled below the level of inflation, which I accept is difficult for people.”

But Labour’s shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said: “They’re unaffordable because of 12 years of Tory government and 44 days in which Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng crashed the economy.

“I think there ought to be a level of humility about that within government.

“What he should be doing is moving heaven and earth to try and avert strikes coming up this winter.

“It’s been a really tough year for a lot of people and nobody wants to see strikes, least of all the people who are having to resort to strike action.”