TORY Budget triumphalism was cut short yesterday as George Osborne’s living wage promise was exposed as a cruel “con trick.”

Blue backbenchers celebrated wildly in the Commons as the Chancellor claimed he was creating a compulsory “national living wage.”

In the final announcement of his one-hour six-minute speech, Mr Osborne said all workers over 25 would be paid at least £7.20 from next April. He said it proved the Tories were “the party of the working people of Britain.” But his claims unravelled within an hour when the Living Wage Foundation stated his announcement was “not a living wage.”