https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-crisis-britons-cannot-expect-pay-rises-to-keep-up-with-inflation-treasury-warns-12636041

Cost of living crisis: Britons cannot expect pay rises to keep up with inflation, Treasury warns

Britons cannot expect pay rises to keep up with the soaring cost of living, the government has warned.

Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke has said matching salaries to inflation risked causing prices in the shops to surge even higher.

His intervention comes as more than 40,000 staff prepare for a three-day strike that will cripple large swathes of the UK's train network.

The RMT union has said it is "unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze" when inflation is at a 40-year high.

And in other developments, tens of thousands of people are expected to march on Saturday - calling on the government to do more to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

The protest has been organised by the TUC union, which claims workers have lost almost £20,000 since 2008 because pay has not kept up with inflation.