Liz Truss makes U-turn on pledge, first major campaign misstep
Categories: UK NEWS
Liz Truss makes U-turn on pledge, first major campaign misstep
Britain's Foreign Minister Liz Truss, the current favorite to replace Boris Johnson as the next prime minister, backed down just a day after announcing a crucial election promise. This is being seen as his first major mistake. She is currently facing former finance minister Rishi Sunak as she aims for the country's top post. The truss planned to save billions of pounds in government spending.
But leaders of the Conservative Party and the opposition said that for the plan to become a reality, the salaries of public sector employees would have to be cut. These workers include nurses and teachers, who are outside the wealthy south-east of England. However, on Tuesday (August 2), a spokesman for the truss said: "Our hard-working frontline workers are the cornerstone of society and no proposal will be put forward on regional wage boards for civil servants or public sector workers."
Truss was currently trailing Sunak, the favorite to win the PM's race. Even now, his lead over Sunak is slim. A poll of 807 Conservative Party members by the Italian data company Tecne, conducted on 19–27 July, found that the truce was supported by 48% compared to former finance minister Sunak's 43%. This is a sign of a very close race. Truss is already facing backlash from within the Conservative Party over its public sector wage plan.
But he also enjoys confidence from his colleagues. "It was a completely avoidable error, but I don't think it will stop him from becoming prime minister in the end," said a Conservative MP who supported the truce. The unnamed MP was quoted by Reuters. Sunak supporter Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, said he was "speechless" at the proposal."You can't do this without massive pay cuts for 5.5 million people outside London, including nurses, police officers and our armed forces," he said.