YOU do not have to a right-wing Tory to accept that the deficit in 2010 was spiralling out of control.

Bank bailouts had plunged the country into the red and the Conservative-LibDem coalition had little choice but to put the brakes on public spending.

Given that public sector salaries make up a huge proportion of overall spending, it was also inevitable that some element of wage restraint would be an important part of getting the deficit down.

However, what the public got wasn't the kind of financial sense our grandparents operated by, but an austerity agenda of cruelty to the poor and bail-outs to the rich. Hundreds of thousands of public sector staff are sick of wages failing to keep up with the cost of living.

Deficit reduction became a hindrance to a decent life and an ideological obsession.

Wage restraint is particularly galling when loopholes exist which allow the highest-paid public sector staff to bust the pay cap - as such, bonus schemes cause resentment amongst low paid employees.

In the Ministry of Defence, a graded bonus scheme is being proposed that disproportionately benefits high earners.

If a “senior professional” is judged to have performed exceptionally, he or she will get a bonus worth 20% of salary. That's a far cry from the 1% pay cap facing nurses, teachers, police and firefighters.

The Government, which is never shy of telling voters money is tight, should dispense with bonuses and use the cash to fund a more generous pay rise for all its staff.