Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak has said that whoever is elected to Number 10 out of himself and rival Liz Truss has a “moral responsibility” to provide more cost-of-living support for vulnerable households.
In an interview with the BBC, Sunak said that if elected by the Conservatives to lead the country, he would tell people what “they needed to hear” and remain “true” to his values.
Sunak also said that he would rather lose in the contest that win “on a false promise” that he could not deliver.
“I do feel a moral responsibility as PM to go further and get extra help to people over the autumn and the winter,” Sunak said.
To address the cost-of-living crisis, Sunak favours an approach of keeping taxes raised but providing vulnerable and pensioner households with more targeted support.
The ex-chancellor went on to attack Liz Truss’ plans to put more money in people’s pockets by slashing taxes, saying that such policies wouldn’t make a difference to the country’s poorest.
However, Truss hit back by highlighting the non-Conservative nature of Sunak’s plans, calling them “socialist tax and spend” proposals that would only lead to a prolonged economic downturn.
Truss claimed that her more Conservative plans to slash taxes would help grow the UK economy and “increase prosperity for everyone.”
The Bank of England has already forecast the UK economy to slide into recession in the fourth quarter of the year, while inflation is now expected to peak at more than 13.3 per cent.
Despite attacking Sunak’s overall strategy, Truss has not ruled out the idea of additional winter support payments for the most vulnerable, a move which her rival advocates.
Speaking about winter payments, the former chancellor said that it would help ensure support for people “that most need our help” during the coldest time of year.
It is likely that if he were to win, Sunak’s plans to provide additional support would see the government spend billions of pounds, but a precise figure on the level of support each household could expect has not been forthcoming.
Asked about whether his plans would cost a “few billion” or in excess of £10 billion, Sunak suggested that it would be “much closer to the former than the latter.”
Sunak has also said that any further support would come on top of the package of measures he announced in May while chancellor, rather than replace it.
He has outlined plans to cut VAT on energy bills temporarily and said that he’d justify the scale of borrowing needed to fund targeted support through maximising efficiencies in government spending.
