A minister today insisted it "wouldn't be right" for the Government to intervene in talks between union bosses and rail chiefs as the nation braces for a week of disruptive strike action.

       Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said the Government does not "control all the levers" in the dispute and stressed it is for Network Rail, the train operating companies and the unions to resolve the row over pay, jobs and conditions.

       Mr Clarke said: “We don’t own the railways ourselves and it wouldn’t be right for us to substitute ourselves for the role of the employer. We recognise these strikes are a huge inconvenience for millions of people.

       "I absolutely want them not to go ahead. But it isn’t the case that we can put ourselves into the hot seat in place of the legal employer.”

       Mr Clarke's comments are likely to prompt accusations of the Government washing its hands of the issue, with Labour having accused ministers of not doing enough to avert the strikes which will start tomorrow in what will be the biggest walkout in the industry for more than 30 years.

       Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail (NR) and 13 train operators will strike on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with only around one in five trains running and disruption to services on days following the action. The RMT and Unite is also holding a 24-hour walkout on London Underground tomorrow.

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       David Lammy is being investigated by Parliament’s Standards Commissioner over alleged breaches of the MPs’ Code of Conduct on declaring financial interests worth more than ￡27,000.

       The inquiry into the Shadow Foreign Secretary was opened on June 15 and relates to claims about the late declaration of earnings and hospitality.

       You can read the full story here.

       Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was asked this morning if people should consider buying Christmas presents now in order to avoid potentially paying more later in the year as inflation continues to rise.

       Mr Clarke told Times Radio: "No and indeed, with inflation, it's important that we don't end up in that mindset, you know, 'you need to buy today because it will be more expensive tomorrow'. That's precisely what we want to prevent here. And there is no need for that kind of response."

       Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has effectively ruled out double digit pay rises for public sector workers as he said it is "extremely unlikely" that such increases would be approved by the Government.

       Asked if he can rule out double digit pay settlements for the public sector, in line with inflation, Mr Clarke told Times Radio: "I think it is extremely unlikely that such a such an outcome would ever be approved. That's right."

       The Chief Secretary to the Treasury said public sector workers’ pay will not rise in line with inflation in order to prevent “a repeat of the 1970s”.

       Simon Clarke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “In the current landscape of inflation at nine per cent bordering 10 per cent, it is not a sustainable expectation that inflation can be matched in payoff. That’s not something that’s going to be seen across, frankly, the private sector as well as the public sector.

       “We cannot get into a world where we are chasing inflation expectations in that way because that is the surest way I can think of to bake in a repeat of the 1970s, which this Government is determined to prevent.”

       Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, claimed the Government has "hobbled" talks between rail and union bosses by failing to take part.

       She told Sky News: “Frankly, Grant Shapps needs to grow up and stop throwing muck over everyone else, stop casting around and blaming anyone else other than himself.

       “He is the Transport Secretary. Network Rail is entirely publicly owned. The Government are a party to these negotiations because they set the negotiating mandate for train operating companies and these rail workers are considered as public sector workers so are subject to Treasury rules.

       “So the Government have a role to play in these talks. Not only have they boycotted them, they have actually hobbled them. Without their presence these negotiations are a sham and it is impossible for the unions and the industry to find a resolution.”

       Labour supports the right of workers to "fight for a fair pay settlement" but it does not want industrial action to go ahead, the shadow transport secretary said this morning.

       Asked if Labour supports the strikes, Louise Haigh told Sky News: “Of course we support their right to fight for a fair pay settlement but we don’t want them to go ahead. I don’t want to see this disruption and I find it utterly appalling, frankly, that Grant Shapps is refusing to step in, refusing to step up and take responsibility and to find a way forward. They do not have to go ahead, they are not inevitable, a resolution can be found.”

       Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, has urged Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, to "step in" at the "eleventh hour" to stop the rail strikes from going ahead.

       Asked if Labour supports the strikes, Ms Haigh told Sky News: "We don’t want these strikes to go ahead… they are going to be enormously disruptive.

       “But even at this eleventh hour it is still possible for Grant Shapps to step in, intervene, convene urgent talks between the industry and the unions and stop these strikes going ahead.”

       Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator with the unions, said a war of "attrition" (see the post below at 08.48) would be a "disaster" as he criticised the RMT for bringing forward strike action "so quickly".

       Asked if Network Rail is willing to engage in a prolonged dispute, Mr Shoveller told the BBC: “I think that would be a disaster for the country, it would be a disaster for our passengers and really bad for our employees who would lose loads of money by having a long drawn out strike. That really is the worst place we could get to.”

       He added: “It is only going to be resolved by conversation and it is a tragedy that the unions have brought the strike action around so quickly because one day there will be a resolution to this, it will only come through talking and the fact that there is strike action really doesn’t help that, in fact it makes it so much worse.”

       Tim Shoveller, managing director of Network Rail’s north west and central region and its chief negotiator with the unions, said the organisation is "absolutely committed to trying to find a way through this".

       Asked if a pay rise offer of two per cent was a "final offer", Mr Shoveller told the BBC: “No, it is not and in fact on Friday the offer we made was two per cent plus a further one per cent available in two increments once the productivity has been implemented.

       “So that was the offer we made on Friday, that was rejected immediately by all three trade unions that were at the meeting. But we are absolutely committed to trying to find a way through this, as always.”

       The RMT union has urged the Labour Party to show more public support for its planned rail industrial action.

       Labour has so far said it does not want the strikes to go ahead but it has also not criticised the unions.

       John Leach, the assistant general secretary at the RMT, was asked if he wants to see more support from Labour and he said: "We want political support wherever it can come from and the Labour Party really should refocus here on its responsibility to represent those in society that are looking for a better situation. That is us in this occasion so we would like more."

       Mr Leach also called on the Government to "rise to the occasion" and intervene in the talks.

       “They are absolutely abjectly failing in their responsibilities, they are nowhere to be seen apart from name calling from the sidelines," he told the BBC. "They need to do the right thing for the railway people of Britain.”

       Rail bosses told The Telegraph they are now preparing for a war of “attrition” with unions that could last for months and see repeated strikes (you can read the full story here).

       John Leach, the assistant general secretary at the RMT union, was asked if his members are prepared for a prolonged battle.

       He told the BBC: “The men and women in my union who keep Britain moving across the entire railway network are some of the most determined, professional, dedicated people you will ever meet.

       “They kept this country moving through the pandemic. They keep the railways moving every single day and it is that kind of grit and determination that is going to mean that they will stick with this negotiation and [secure] justice for themselves in that regard, right through to the end.

       “That is why we are so clear about this. We didn’t want to be in this situation… but we are determined to see this through.”

       John Leach, the assistant general secretary at the RMT union, said the pay offer from Network Rail and the train operating companies is "nowhere near enough" and "not acceptable".

       Mr Leach told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “You can split these negotiations in two. So let’s look at Network Rail first. We are dealing with a company, or Network Rail itself, where staff haven’t received a pay rise for a number of years now and we have been offered two per cent.

       “That was the offer that was made late last week. It is nowhere near enough with inflation at 11 per cent. We are looking for a package also around the issue of job security because… the company have put on the table a kind of an all-in package of just under 3,000 job cuts, a wholescale re-organisation of the workforce and in return for that, eight per cent less than inflation. So obviously that is not acceptable.

       “On the train operating companies it is kind of worse. No pay rise on the table at the moment. Every single ticket office in the country being closed. A form of internal fire and rehire where staff have got to go through a reevaluation process and it is just not acceptable.”

       A minister has told public sector workers they need to understand they "cannot have inflation-busting pay increases" because doing so would fuel spiking inflation.

       Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News: “In the current situation with inflation which is a real issue, we do have to be very, very sensitive to it. If we start having pay awards which take us close to double digits then we are going to see this problem prolonged and that is just the economic reality of where we find ourselves at the moment.”

       He added: “We do absolutely need to have an understanding across the wider public sector that we cannot have inflation-busting pay increases because that will in turn drive the problem we are trying to sort.”

       Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to Treasury, said any pay rises in the rail industry should be linked to "productivity reform" in the sector as he said parts of the railway operation are "seriously outdated".

       He told Sky News: “The issue we need to secure for the railways is about making sure that you have a sustainable offer on pay but also linked to productivity reform as well because the railways are not run as efficiently as they could be.

       “There are all sorts of practices there which are seriously outdated which make the railways both more expensive to operate but also less efficient in terms of their operation than they otherwise ought to be and so there's a variety of things that need to change."

       It "wouldn't be right" for the Government to intervene in talks between union bosses and rail chiefs, Simon Clarke claimed this morning.

       The Chief Secretary to the Treasury was told during an interview on Sky News that if the Government does not get involved to stop the strikes then the nation is going to grind to a halt.

       He said: “Well, ultimately we don’t control all the levers that need to be held here as the employer. The employer is Network Rail and the train operating companies.

       “They are the ones who need to drive the programme of reform to make the railway sustainable. We don’t own the railways ourselves and it wouldn’t be right for us to substitute ourselves for the role of the employer.

       “We recognise these strikes are a huge inconvenience for millions of people. I absolutely want them not to go ahead. But it isn’t the case that we can put ourselves into the hot seat in place of the legal employer.”

       Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is on the morning media round for the Government.

       He said it is "likely" that the rail strikes will go ahead from tomorrow.

       Speaking to Sky News, he said: "I fear it is likely that they will go ahead. Clearly we will continue to support the negotiations until such time as there is no more time to discuss.

       “But I think the public do this week need to be aware there will be very substantial disruption and it is therefore sensible to make preparations for that.”

       Good morning and welcome to today's politics live blog.

       Britain is braced for a week of disruptive rail strikes, with the biggest walkout for more than 30 years due to get underway from tomorrow.

       Talks between unions and rail companies remain ongoing but there is little optimism of a breakthrough.

       Meanwhile, ministers are under growing pressure to intervene and make a last-ditch bid to stop the industrial action from going ahead.

       There is a lot going on this morning and I will guide you through the key developments.

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