UK: Liz Truss makes U-turn on pledge, first major campaign misstep

UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss, the current favorite to replace Boris Johnson andbecome next prime minister backtracked on a significant poll promise just a day after announcing it. This is being viewed as her first big misstep. She is currently facing ex-finance minister Rishi Sunak as she aims for the country’s top post.

Truss had set out plans to save billions of pounds in government spending. But leaders from Conservative party and opposition said that for this plan to become reality, salaries of public sector workers would have to be cut. These workers include nurses and teachers, outside of the wealthy southeast of England.

On Monday, as an apparent solution to this, Truss proposed introducing regional pay boards rather than having a national pay agreement, tailoring pay to the cost of living where people actually work.

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However, on Tuesday (August 2), a spokesperson for Truss said: “Our hard-working frontline staff are the bedrock of society and there will be no proposal taken forward on regional pay boards for civil servants or public sector workers.”

Truss currently the favorite to win the PM race, was previously trailing Sunak. Even now, her lead over Sunak is slim.

A survey of 807 Conservative Party members by Italian data company Techne carried out July 19-27 found Truss was backed by 48%, compared with 43% for former finance minister Sunak.

This is suggestive of a much closer race.

Truss is already facing backlash on her public sector pay plan from within Conservative Party. But she enjoys confidence from her colleagues.

“This was a completely avoidable error, but I don’t think in the end it will stop her being prime minister,” said a Conservative lawmaker who supports Truss. The unnamed lawmaker was quoted by Reuters.

Sunak supporter Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, said he was “speechless” at the proposal.

“There is simply no way you can do this without a massive pay cut for 5.5m people, including nurses, police officers and our armed forces outside London,” he had said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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