The YouGov survey published today also found that almost nine in 10 Conservative members have now made up their minds how they will vote ahead of ballot papers going out this week.
Liz Truss has extended her lead over Rishi Sunak among Tory members, according to a new poll, after the foreign secretary U-turned on a plan to link public sector pay to regional living costs.
On Monday night, the leadership race frontrunner said she would save £8.8bn by introducing regional pay boards instead of national ones to set salaries for civil servants, reflecting where they lived.
But experts warned that to reach the sum, the plan would have to branch out further than government departments, with the likes of teachers, nurses, and police officers also receiving lower pay than workers in the South.
It led to outrage from Conservative MPs, and by lunchtime today – less than 24 hours later – Ms Truss’ team had released a statement saying the policy would not be taken forward.
A statement insisted “current levels of public sector pay will absolutely be maintained”, adding: “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.”
