Liz Dress (Photo: Flickr)
UK Foreign Secretary, Liz dressThe favorite to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister has been forced to backtrack on one of his key pledges a day after he announced a backlash from the Conservative Party and other members of the opposition.
In the first misstep of her campaign, Truss set out plans to save billions of pounds in public spending with a pledge that opponents said would cut pay for civil servants, including nurses and teachers, outside England’s wealthier south-east.
Truss had said on Monday that he would introduce regional pay groups instead of a national agreement that links local cost-of-living payments.
But after the criticism on Tuesday, Truss said: “I would never want to change the terms and conditions of teachers and nurses. But what I want to clarify is that I will not go with regional salary groups.
The withdrawal came at a time when opinion polls were showing stark contrasts in Truce’s leadership against rival Rishi Sunak.
A poll of 807 members of the Conservative Party conducted by Italian firm Techne between July 19 and 27 found the former finance minister had 48% support, compared to 43%.
By contrast, a YouGov poll for The Times, conducted between July 29 and August 2, showed the Dress widening its lead in the previous poll. He emerged with the support of 60% of members against Sunak’s 26%, with the remaining 1,043 members still undecided or not intending to vote in the interview.
An earlier YouGov poll, between July 20 and 21, showed a 49% to 31% view in favor of Truss.
