Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss has quickly U-turned on plans that would have seen public sector workers paid less in areas like the North East after it came under fire from across the political divide.
In her latest pitch to Conservative Party members - most of whom are thought to live in the South - Ms Truss had promised a “war on Whitehall waste” and plans for regional pay boards that would set public sector pay lower in cheaper areas of the country.
Her proposals met with a furious response from a major civil service union, which vowed to oppose her plans “every step of the way”, while senior Labour figures accused her of “levelling down”. A number of leading Conservative politicians in the North East also condemned the plans.
