Used to be a time when most police were Tory

Yes, I suppose the girl who prepares the flat white coffee is providing a public service. The only difference is that she is in the private sector. Too much is made of the difference and everyone has a choice, to a certain degree, as to what career path they take.

However, there remain plenty of those in the public sector who actively chose the public way even though they would have earned far more had they taken the private route [and I include myself in this]. You take the poorer road to support essential front line services knowing you will never live the high life on a public sector salary. However, this used to be recognised by way of an unwritten covenant that you will be taken care of in your advanced years. The longer the public service, the greater the pension benefit. It seems that the British public no longer see the need to meet their side of that covenant and most of those in public service recognise that the public has good reason for this as to maintain pension arrangements in current form is not sustainable. It is a hit we are prepared to take just to remain in a job!

However, if you are talking unsustainable, many things need to be looked at closely for the same reason including far more private sector involvement in health care [aggressive encouragement of health insurance etc.] and means-testing state pensions and associated benefits. Sadly, one will only happen in the most stealth like way [if at all] given the nature of the political sacred cow; and the other will impact those who have a greater propensity to vote and vote blue. So both obvious solutions to improved public finance will not happen. Instead, hits will continue to be made on those less able to resist including the unemployed, the disabled and the beleaguered public sector.

The sword continues to swing over us and gets lower and lower and the thread that bears it thinner and thinner. In that context, your comments about fat cat pensions seems misguided.