May had secret plan to ban strikes by teachers and nurses over pay

THERESA May’s bid to woo nurses and teachers with a pay rise suffered an embarrassing blow last night after it was revealed she secretly planned to ban their right to strike.

A bombshell leak shows how she drew up tough new laws to curb industrial action by key public-sector workers including doctors, nurses, teachers, prison guards and rail workers.

Tory insiders say that if the proposals had not been axed, Mrs May would have lost the election and Jeremy Corbyn would be in No10.

The Thatcher-style ‘anti-strike charter’ was included in a draft Tory election manifesto obtained by The Mail on Sunday. The bid to impose ‘minimum service levels’ would have banned a union shutdown of essential services. If unions refused to maintain minimum service levels during strikes, Ministers would impose these levels using new laws – and make it easier for agency staff to break strikes.

But the move was dropped days before the manifesto launch after Ministers warned it would ‘alienate public-sector workers’ and be seen as an ‘underhand’ way to stop attacks on Government ‘austerity’.

Last month, the Scottish Government confirmed that it plans to scrap the 1 per cent public sector cap and bring in ‘affordable pay rises’ from 2018.

Nicola Sturgeon said future pay for nurses, teachers, police officers and firefighters would be based on the cost of living.

In recent weeks, Mrs May has announced pay increases of about 2 per cent for prison officers and police south of the Border and hinted at similar rises for nurses and teachers.

But public-sector unions are threatening strikes unless they get a 5 per cent pay rise.

A Tory source said: ‘Mrs May was hoping to go after publicsector unions. Now she wants to be their friend.’