Could have been better given everything we have to contend with. Equally, it could have been much much worse and even staged.
As it is, my fag packet calculations suggest that Melchett's rise is actually closer to 3.5% rather than 2.6%. It appears that the AFPRB have played things rather cleverly given extremely limited financial resources available. By first adjusting the X-factor by 1% and then implementing the 2.6% payrise on top of that revised figure means that we get more than the headline amount whilst Gordon manages to portray a reasonable level of restraint.