Liz Truss has scrapped a plan announced overnight that would link public sector pay to local living costs following a backlash from Tory MPs and opposition parties.
The plans would have seen an eye-watering £7.1 billion hit to local economies across Yorkshire, the North and the Midlands, according to figures from Labour.
Liz Truss’s proposals to reduce £8.8 billion of public sector pay outside of London and the South East would have meant a huge pay cut for workers, including nurses, teachers, and police.
Greater Manchester will be hit by a huge £832m, South Yorkshire would see an economic drop of £649m, and West Yorkshire would endure a £512m reduction. The rest of Yorkshire and Humberside which would also be penalised by £685m.
Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Deputy Leader, said:
“Liz Truss is utterly out of touch with the British public. Her fantasy plan would hammer the north and slash the pay of nurses, teachers, and police officers facing the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation.
“If Liz Truss is handed the keys to Number 10, workers outside the M25 will see their pay levelled down as she kicks out the ladder. The Conservatives’ commitment to levelling up is dead on arrival with Lightweight Liz as Prime Minister.
“Liz Truss is a liability who has lingered in this Tory Cabinet for nearly a decade in which the Tories have fuelled a cost of living crisis. The next Labour Government will deliver for the places that built our country after 12 years of Conservative neglect.”
