Michael Gove has suggested the Government could support a lifting of the public sector pay cap for NHS workers, with pressure mounting on Theresa May and Philip Hammond to ease austerity.
The Environment Secretary said it is the "collective view of Government" to "respect the integrity" of independent public sector pay review bodies, one of which warned in March that the 1% cap is putting "stress" on the health service.
The NHS pay review body highlighted "widespread concerns" about recruitment, retention and motivation among employers and staff and said "we are approaching the point when the current pay policy will require some modification, and greater flexibility, within the NHS".
Mr Gove's comments came amid claims in the Observer that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is set to demand a lifting of the 1% pay cap for NHS workers, citing the pay review body report.
The Environment Secretary suggested he was "suppressing" his own views on austerity when quizzed by the BBC's Andrew Marr on his eponymous show.
Mr Gove said: "These pay review bodies have been set up in order to ensure that we can have authoritative advice on what's required in order to ensure that the public services on which we rely are effectively staffed and the people within them are effectively supported.
"I think we should respect the integrity of that process.
"I'm not an individual, I'm a member of the Government and a member of a collective team and the collective view of Government policy, which helpfully was endorsed by the Labour Party spokesman Jon (Ashworth) earlier is that we should respect the integrity of the process.
"One of the things about Government is that you don't exercise your views on the basis of whim. You've written a brilliant article in the Sunday Times today making it clear that sometimes you have to suppress your own views, Andrew.
"You sometimes have to suppress your own views, I sometimes might suppress mine in order to ensure that we can operate successfully as a collective team."
His comments follow accusations of a Government "shambles" on the issue after a Number 10 source on Wednesday told reporters the PM was ready to listen to the pay review bodies' recommendations, only for her official spokesman and the Treasury to insist "the policy has not changed".
On Saturday night, a Number 10 source said the Government was responding to the recommendations of pay review bodies which are currently reporting to ministers "on a case-by-case basis".
The source said the pay cap was brought in to "deal with the mess we inherited from Labour" and acknowledged the "hard work and sacrifice" made by public sector workers, saying jobs had been protected and the deficit reduced by three quarters.
"While we understand the sacrifice that has been made, we must also ensure we continue to protect jobs and deal with our debts," the source added.
Meanwhile, Mr Gove said he agreed with Damian Green, Mrs May's most senior minister, that Britain should have a "national debate" on university tuition fees.
But he appeared to rule out the prospect that the Tories could perform a U-turn and match Labour's policy to scrap fees, despite Jeremy Corbyn's party hoovering up support of young voters after pledging to do so in the general election, and denying the Government a majority.
"I think we should have a conversation about it, but it's important again to look at Damian's remarks and what he actually said," Mr Gove said.
"Damian wasn't talking about getting rid of it. What Damian was saying, what I believe, is that if we have to fund higher education, and if people who get university degrees go on to earn well, which is good, they should pay something back and that's what the current system does.
"It's wrong if people who don't go to university find that they have to pay more in taxation to support those who do. I believe fundamentally that the purpose of government policy is to support everyone equally and if you don't benefit from a university education, you shouldn't have to pay additionally to support those who do."
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth told the programme: "I think they should consider giving people a pay rise in line with earnings.
"But clearly they are not going to be able to overturn the 14% loss that NHS staff have had over seven years, but they have to come up with responsible recommendations which we would accept."
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested increasing public sector pay in line with the private sector would cost £6 billion a year by 2019/20, more than was budgeted for in Labour's manifesto.
Mr Ashworth said such a pay rise would save money across the public sector as a whole by helping with recruitment and retention of staff and cutting spending on agencies.
The interviews came amid widespread reports that Cabinet minsters are demanding an end to austerity, including claims in the Sunday Telegraph that Education Secretary Justine Greening wants £1 billion extra for schools funding.
Tory MP Heidi Allen said the Tories should have stuck to plans to scrap the pensions triple lock, which were ditched as the party struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to prop up the minority Government, in order to pay for wage rises in the public sector and a boost to schools funding.
Ms Allen told Channel 4 News her party had "got our balance a little bit wrong", adding: "I'm disappointed for example that the triple lock on pensions which costs about £6 billion a year, that that was very swiftly dumped.
"I thought it was a brave policy and one we should have looked at which would have given us freedom to look at the pay cap for example."
She also backed a 1% increase in income tax for those earning £80,000 and over, saying: "Possibly a modest increase, perhaps 1%, particularly if you can show to the public that you're ringfencing it for the NHS and social care.
"Certainly on the doorstep in the election I found people very persuaded by that argument."