A dangerous narrative | Wage hikes of regular staff aren't the cause of inflation, it's those of the 1%

As workers across the country struggle as a result of the growing cost-of-living crisis, surely it makes sense that wage increases are at an all-time high compared with the same period last year? Not everyone seems to think so.

Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the UK’s central bank, the Bank of England (BoE), has openly shared his perspective that the increase in wages of average people is making inflation worse. In addition to Bailey, BoE’s Chief Economist Hew Pill famously told Brits to “accept” being poorer, while Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt echoed these sentiments saying public sector wage restraint is needed to curb inflation.

This is despite research from the TUC, which found that pay rises for the top 10% of UK earners trumped pay rises for the rest of workers as an influencing factor in the rise of inflation.

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This is even more pertinent for the top 1% of UK earners group, who earn £180,000 or more, for which Bailey comfortably fits into with a pay slip of almost £500k.