UK leadership frontrunner Truss U-turns on public sector pay plans

Liz Truss, the frontrunner to become Britain's next prime minister, on Tuesday scrapped a plan to tailor public sector pay to different regions less than a day after announcing it, following a backlash from many within her own party. The spokesperson said there had been a "wilful misrepresentation of our campaign" and current levels of public sector pay would be maintained.

Liz Truss, the frontrunner to become Britain's next prime minister, on Tuesday scrapped a plan to tailor public sector pay to different regions less than a day after announcing it, following a backlash from many within her own party. Truss had vowed to save billions of pounds a year by introducing regional pay boards rather than having a national pay agreement, something commentators and opponents said would lead to pay cuts for workers such as nurses and teachers outside of London.

"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," a spokesperson for Truss said. The spokesperson said there had been a "wilful misrepresentation of our campaign" and current levels of public sector pay would be maintained.