Liz Truss has U-turned on her latest policy to “wage war on Whitehall waste” after a Tory backlash over its impact on public sector pay.
On Monday night, the foreign secretary said she would save £8.8m by introducing regional pay boards instead of national ones to set salaries for civil servants, reflecting where they lived.
But this would mean paying government employees in poorer parts of the country less than their counterparts in more affluent areas, such as the South East and London.
And experts warned to reach the sum, the plan would have to branch out further than government departments, with the likes of teachers, nurses and police officers also facing lower wages than workers in the south.
The plan sparked outrage from a number of Conservatives, with many of her rival Rishi Sunak’s backers taking to social media to call it “crackers” and “austerity on steroids”.
But by lunchtime today, Ms Truss’ team had released a statement insisting “current levels of public sector pay will absolutely be maintained”, adding: “Our hard-working frontline staff are the bed rock of society and there will be no proposal taken forward on regional pay boards for civil servants or public sector workers.”