Our Next P.M.

Whereas the Old guard thinks:

Lord Hague urges Tories to back ‘highly disciplined, rational’ Sunak for PM (msn.com)

 

Though "Some might say" ... "Too close to call"

Tory peer says outcome of leadership race is unclear due to ‘large number’ of undecided voters (msn.com)

 

Exeter Hustings ....

Tory leadership latest: Penny Mordaunt backs 'hope candidate' Liz Truss at Exeter hustings - follow live (msn.com)

 

Oops !!! - .... and another stupid policy bites the dust !!!


Liz Truss abandons £8.8bn policy to slash public sector pay amid backlash

Sam Blewett, PA Deputy Political Editor
2 August 2022, 0:46 pmLiz Truss has abandoned a flagship policy to slash £8.8 billion from public sector pay after furious warnings from senior Conservatives that it would be “levelling down” the nation by leaving nurses, police officers and teachers poorer.

The Tory leadership frontrunner scrapped the plan to pay workers in cheaper regions less than their counterparts in London and the South East on Tuesday morning, a little over 12 hours after making the major announcement.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Secretary’s campaign claimed there had been “wilful misrepresentation” of the proposal amid growing blue-on-blue attacks, but made clear they would be dropping it and instead maintaining current levels of pay.


Actually speechless.

There is simply no way you can do this without a massive pay cut for 5.5m people including nurses, police officers and our armed forces outside London.

So much that we’ve worked for in places like Teesside, would be undone Tory leadership: Pay public sector workers in regions differently, says Truss

— Ben Houchen (@BenHouchen) August 2, 2022

Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, who is backing Rishi Sunak, had said he had been left “actually speechless” by Ms Truss’s pitch to party members choosing the next prime minister.

Ms Truss, widely seen as the frontrunner to take over in No 10, had announced the move on Monday night as part of a “war on Whitehall waste” to make savings from the Civil Service.

But the Sunak campaign argued that the plan would slash the pay of nearly six million public sector workers, with nurses, police and armed forces members facing £1,500 of cuts.

Announcing the U-turn, Ms Truss’s spokeswoman said: “Current levels of public sector pay will absolutely be maintained.

“Anything to suggest otherwise is simply wrong.

“Our hard-working frontline staff are the bedrock of society and there will be no proposal taken forward on regional pay boards for civil servants or public sector workers.”


This is a terrible idea and would be hugely damaging to public services in Cornwall where we already struggle to recruit NHS staff. The £billions saved would be coming straight out of rural economies. This is leveling down not up. Just one reason I will be voting for @RishiSunak https://t.co/koUHx6eeSo

— Steve Double MP (@stevedouble) August 2, 2022

Mr Sunak’s camp argued that the move was no mistake, saying that Ms Truss had called for the move when she was chief secretary to the Treasury in 2018.

“The lady is for turning,” a source said, mocking the Cabinet minister over comparisons she receives with former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

It was unclear how the Truss camp believed the policy had been misrepresented, with them clearly having stated that up to £8.8 billion could be saved by extending the move for all public sector workers.

Former chief whip Mark Harper told Ms Truss to stop “blaming journalists – reporting what a press release says isn’t ‘wilful misrepresentation’”.

“So this U-turn has wiped out £8.8 billion in savings. Where are these going to come from now?” the Tory MP for the Forest of Dean said.

“An economic policy that can’t be paid for isn’t very Conservative. Mrs Thatcher would be livid.”

Earlier in the day, Mr Houchen had described the plan as a “ticking time bomb set by Team Truss that will explode ahead of the next general election”.

Institute for Government programme director Alex Thomas argued that the “complicated and controversial” move would mean nurses and teachers being paid less or receiving slower pay rises than others.

“This is not war on Whitehall, it’s more like war on Workington,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.


Well they will get levelling down if Liz Truss is given the chance of cutting all non-London public sector pay. Bad news for huge numbers of families and increased pressure on housing and services in London and SE. A totally bad initiative https://t.co/a4xECr7WJk

— Simon Hoare MP (@Simon4NDorset) August 2, 2022

Steve Double, the Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, said the “terrible idea” would be “hugely damaging to public services in Cornwall, where we already struggle to recruit NHS staff”.

“The billions saved would be coming straight out of rural economies. This is levelling down not up,” he said as he vowed to vote for Mr Sunak.

North West Durham MP Richard Holden, another supporter of the former chancellor, said Ms Truss’s policy would “kill levelling up”.

Simon Hoare, the Sunak backer who chairs the Commons Northern Ireland Committee, said it is a “totally bad initiative” that would result in “levelling down”.

Unions representing civil servants had also reacted furiously to the plan, with FDA general secretary Dave Penman saying Ms Truss was deploying “recycled failed policies” and “tired rhetoric from the 1980s”.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It seemed to be a plan to declare lots of towns as low-pay zones. And it would create a race to the bottom, making well-paid work harder to find.

“She may have withdrawn the plan for now but after 12 years already of Conservative pay caps and cuts, both Truss and Sunak are still committed to holding down pay behind rising prices across the public sector.”

The plan was contained in Ms Truss’s policy to save £11 billion by cutting Civil Service time off, scrapping jobs aimed at increasing inclusion and diversity in the public sector, and by ending national pay deals.

The last point would mean taking into account the regional cost of living when paying public sector workers.

Her campaign had argued it could save up to £8.8 billion annually if it was adopted for all public sector workers in the long term.

Labour said it would slash £7.1 billion from economies in the North of England, the Midlands and Yorkshire.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “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 first major error from Ms Truss’s campaign came as Mr Sunak battles to make up ground during what is a key week in the contest for the keys to No 10.

Monday night’s hustings will be followed by three further head-to-head clashes, including a televised Sky debate on Thursday.

The Sunak campaign had hoped that his pledge to cut income tax would boost his chances as Tory Party members receive their postal votes.

 

TRUSS - U-Turn revolt

‘Went down like a lead balloon' BBC host savages Truss over awkward public sector U-turn (msn.com)

 

TRUSS - Over-reaching?

Truss campaign has ‘clocked up’ over £61bn of spending commitments, Tory minister says (msn.com)

 

As Conservative Party candidates receive their ballot papers for the final leadership vote ...

A problem arises ...

Tory leadership ballot papers delayed due to security fears | Politics News | Sky News

 

Poll: Less than fifth of Tory members think Sunak would win election majority
One third think most likely outcome is hung parliament - Namita Singh,Maryam Zakir-Hussain,Matt Mathers

Fewer than a fifth of Tory members believe that Rishi Sunak could win the party a majority at the next general election, according to a new poll.
The survey by YouGov found the Conservative faithful were doubtful of a major electoral success.
The figures for former chancellor Mr Sunak are most stark, with just 19 per cent of those polled suggesting the “most likely” result after the next election would be a Conservative majority in the Commons.

Thirty-three per cent thought the most likely scenario was a hung parliament with a Tory-led government while 23 opted for a Labour-led government and 14 per cent for a Labour majority, which would be the first in over a decade.

Earlier, a YouGov poll put Liz Truss well ahead of Mr Sunak in support from party members, with her lead increasing to 34 points.
Mr Sunak appears to have lost significant ground as 60 per cent of the party members polled between 29 July and 2 August said they intended to vote for the foreign secretary.

 

Sunak and Truss continue in their fight to become the next prime minister this week as postal ballots with QR codes began to be sent out to party members

UK’s next Prime Minister: Final two candidates and their chances of becoming Tory leader (msn.com)

Sunak = Latest odds: 3/1

Truss = Latest odds: 1/4

 

One wonders who will pick up the gauntlet to be the Champion of Girls and women after this Open letter ...

 

If only there was a 3rd Choice ??

 

Merely someone good at football doesn't necessarily make them good at politics !!!

 

= Better than the two other options

 

We are used to adversity and double standards - especially in the North (as per the now Truss u-turn on different pay grades for same job, different geograohical location proposal), before that the promises of 'Northern Powerhouse/s' and High speed rail link
(( High speed Rail link: Construction on the line began in 2020.
Once completed, HS2 will link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds via a network of high-speed track, allowing for speeds of 225mph.
However -
The London and Birmingham leg was due to open at the end of 2026. But this is now expected between 2029 and 2033.
The second phase was due to open in 2032-33, but has been pushed back to 2035-2040.))
* I can't see either of the two candidates making this a Priority

• This being said - we have a history of 'making do' along with a credo of "Resistance is never futile"

 

I have no opinion that is printable

 

SUNAK slipping up

Tory leadership race: Rishi Sunak’s campaign in turmoil amid disastrous polls and talk of a defection (msn.com)

 

as TRUSS campaign pickis up the pieces - with claims backers to switch sides

Liz Truss campaign claims Rishi Sunak backers in advanced talks to switch sides (msn.com)