ory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss was forced into a U-turn on Tuesday as she abandoned plans to save taxpayers money by ending national pay deals for public sector workers outside London. The Foreign Secretary announced a “war on Whitehall waste” on Monday, detailing plans to save £8.8bn a year by linking civil servants’ pay to the standard of living where they work, meaning similar jobs could they are paid different wages depending on the location. Getty Images But it faced a backlash as Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen joined forces with Labor and unions to criticize the proposal, saying the only way to save such a large amount of money would be to cut wages in the entire public sector. workers – means pay cuts for nurses, teachers and police. Amid mounting pressure, a spokesman for Ms Truss issued a statement just before midday saying the idea of setting up regional councils to set civil servant pay according to the actual areas where civil servants work had been scrapped.
READ MORE
A spokesman for Ms Truss said: “Over the last few hours there has been a deliberate misrepresentation of our campaign. Current public sector pay levels will definitely be maintained. Anything we suggest otherwise is simply wrong. “Our hard-working frontline staff are the rock of society and there will be no proposal for regional pay boards for civil servants or public sector employees.” Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey MP said in response that “to turn to a multi-billion pound policy five weeks before he even came into office must be a new record”. “We cannot let Liz Truss run the country with the same incompetence she ran her leadership campaign. The British people must have their say in a general election.” Ahead of the policy change, Mr Houchen, who is backing the former chancellor in the leadership contest, said: “There is simply no way you can do this without a huge pay cut for 5.5 million people, including nurses, police and our armed forces outside London. “Liz Truss’s campaign is clear that the savings target is only possible ‘if the scheme is adopted for all public sector workers’. Getty Images “This is a ticking time bomb being planted by the Truss team which will explode in the run up to the next general election.” Mr Sunak’s campaign team said that to save £8.8bn civil servant pay would have to be halved for the entire public sector workforce, including nurses, the police and the armed forces. Meanwhile, Labor said it would deliver “a staggering £7.1bn hit to local economies across Yorkshire, the North and the Midlands”. Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Liz Truss is completely out of touch with the British public. Her fantastic plan would hit the north and slash the wages of nurses, teachers and police officers facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in a generation. “Liz Truss is a liability who has remained in this Tory cabinet for almost a decade, during which the Tories have fueled a cost of living crisis. The next Labor Government will deliver for the parts that built our country after 12 years of Conservative neglect. The TUC also tweeted: “The problem: 40,000 nursing vacancies. Liz Truss’ Solution: Cut Nurses’ Pay’.
