Liz Truss, a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party, pledges to “fight the war on Whitehall waste” with ideas to reform public sector pay.
The Tory leadership candidate believes she can save the government £11 billion on civil sector salaries, but Tory MPs slam the proposal as “crackers”
The foreign secretary claims she would save up to £11 billion annually by altering pay for regional positions, eliminating posts focused on diversity and inclusion, and eliminating paid leave for union officials to carry out their duties.
However, opposition parties and even some Conservative MPs are opposed to the proposal, fearing that it will “kill leveling up” across the nation.
Labour referred to the initiatives as “a race to the bottom regarding the pay and rights of public sector workers.”
The majority of the proposed savings by Ms. Truss – £8.8bn – would come from paying government staff in poorer parts of the country, such as the South East and London, less than their counterparts in wealthier places.
She asserts that replacing National Compensation Boards with regional ones will ensure that salaries “accurately reflects where [officials] work and prevents local firms that cannot compete with public sector pay from being pushed out of business.
The foreign secretary continues, “Whitehall has too much bureaucracy and stale groupthink.”
“If I am elected to Downing Street, I will put an end to this and lead a government that ruthlessly prioritizes delivering for the British public and providing value for hard-working taxpayers.”
Alex Thomas, an analyst from the Institute for Government, argues that it would be “difficult” to make such large reductions without targeting the wages of teachers and nurses, as the civil service salary bill totaled £9 billion.
Ben Houchen, the mayor of Tees Valley and a supporter of Ms. Truss’s opponent Rishi Sunak, stated, “You cannot achieve this without enormous wage cuts for 5.5 million people, including nurses, police officers, and our armed services outside London.”
“Liz Truss’s campaign makes it clear that their savings goal is only achievable if the system is accepted by all public sector employees. Team Truss has planted a ticking time bomb that will detonate before the next general election.”
Several Tory MPs who support the former chancellor also condemned the plan on social media, with Fay Jones referring to it as “crackers” and former minister Matt Warman stating that “the reality outside of London and the South East will seem like austerity on steroids.”
By the awakened, for the awakened
According to Team Truss, there are at least 326 diversity and inclusion positions in government agencies, and eliminating them may save £12 million annually.
One of her supporters, Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, told that the positions were essential as “a job creation plan devised by the woke for the woke.”
He continues, “I believe that ensuring diversity in the workplace is the responsibility of those who make hiring decisions, not a diversity officer.”
“And some of the crap that we have received. The name of our training program was “check yo privilege” – what on earth does that mean? Why is the government wasting people’s time with a course that does not improve job performance?”
Other suggestions include reducing the number of vacation days from 27 to 25, as well as relocating more civil officials out of London.
The latter, according to Mr. Rees-Mogg, would be “crucial” for “leveling up” since “you are then opening up jobs to individuals from all across the country, as opposed to a very limited concentrate on London.”
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, argues that the array of ideas will “level down the pay of Northerners, so widening the existing gap,” adding, “This out-of-touch government’s commitment to leveling up is dead.”
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, stated that Ms. Truss “would find hostility at every turn” after civil service unions criticized the measures.
He adds, “Civil workers are not a political tool to be used and abused for an individual’s ambition; they are the diligent individuals who keep the country functioning every day, and they deserve respect.”
Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect union, refers to the pitch as a “vain attempt to garner headlines favorable to her electorate” as part of the Conservative leadership race, stating, “She plans more of the same economically illiterate and insulting ideological nonsense that this government has produced in recent years.”
A campaign source, however, defended her approach, stating, “Liz is a low-tax, small-state Conservative who distrusts big government. She will shake up Whitehall and take the drastic measures necessary to eliminate the waste and inefficiency at the heart of the government.
“She will ensure that every official understands their role in executing the promises stated in the 2019 manifesto and the issues that matter to the public.”
