Liz Truss vows to cut pay of nurses and teachers outside London in ‘levelling down’ plan

Nurses, teachers and other public sector workers outside of London could face pay cuts as part of a new ‘levelling down’ plan proposed by Liz Truss.

The Conservative leader contender unveiled the plan, which she dubbed a ‘war on Whitehall waste’, last night, where she promised savings in the region of £11 billion. 

Truss claimed an estimated £8.8 billion of these savings would come from ‘adjusting’ the salaries of workers living in cheaper areas of the country.

Under this plan, they would be paid less than their counterparts in places like London and the South East, where the cost of living is significantly higher.

Number 10 / Flickr

The Truss campaign said it would initially apply to the civil service, but would be later expanded to public sector workers.

According to the BBC, Truss also proposed reducing the average civil service annual leave from twenty-seven days to twenty-five, and scrapping jobs aimed at increasing inclusion and diversity in the public sector.

The proposal has been met with fierce criticism from MPs and union chiefs, with deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner, who slammed Truss as ‘declaring war on herself’. 

Rayner wrote on Twitter today: “Liz Truss is declaring war on herself with this recipe for levelling down. A race to the bottom that would cut the pay of school and NHS workers outside London, widening the divide and punishing the North.

“This out-of-touch Tory Government’s commitment to levelling up is dead.”

Rayner added: “Liz Truss’ latest fantasy to cut the pay of NHS, school and police staff outside London during a cost of living crisis? It’a copy [and] paste job from a shady, discredited right wing pressure group that refuses to reveal who funds it.”

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has also slammed the plan, promising to ‘fight it tooth and nail’.

UPDATE: Less than twenty-four hours after her announcement, Truss has backtracked on the controversial plan following major Tory backlash. 

Truss’ team have 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.”