Liz Truss has doubled down on her reluctance to “bung more money” at those who will struggle to afford spiralling energy costs this winter while Rishi Sunak said millions may be forced into destitution without extra support, as the pair clashed at the penultimate hustings of the Conservative leadership race.
With energy regulator Ofgem expected to raise the price cap to £3,500 a year from October for the average dual-fuel tariff, Truss warned the issue of spiralling fuel costs was not a short-term one. “If people think this problem is going to be over in six months they are not right. This is a long term problem,” she told the audience in Norfolk.
But Sunak said her planned tax cuts would fail to help pensioners and those on lower incomes, and added that extra support for businesses struggling with energy bills was “clearly something the new prime minister will have to look at”.
The two candidates’ economic plans were the focus of Thursday night’s hustings given the threat of a worsening cost of living crisis.
But Truss appeared more at ease, given she is comfortably the frontrunner in polls of Conservative members, and confidently took shots at Sunak, the BBC and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
The foreign secretary said she would prefer Boris Johnson to be prime minister over her rival in the leadership race. When asked if Macron was a friend or foe, she said: “The jury’s out. If I become PM, I’ll judge him on deeds not words.” And she said anybody who thought the BBC was neutral is “kidding themselves”. » | Aubrey Allegretti | Thursday, August 25, 2022
Liz Truss? A better name for that bloody woman would be Mis[s]Trus[t], or Ms Trust! She is clearly a heartless woman. Even Margaret Thatcher was known to have a heart (sometimes).
How and why the Tories want this woman, this turncoat, to lead the Party and the country is beyond my comprehension. She will take the country to the brink of disaster. I dare say that there could even be social unrest in the months to come. We will also have discord with the EU–the last thing we need in this crisis–if she is to be our ‘Führerin’. So a trade war with Europe will likely ensue. In my opinion, Sunak would be a far better choice.
As for her remarks on Emmanuel Macron, they are despicable. (As were her remarks on Nicola Sturgeon.) I, for one, would far prefer Emmanuel Macron to lead my country than this heartless woman. To me, Emmanuel Macron comes over as a thoroughly decent gentleman. By contrast, Ms Trust doesn’t display much decency at all. She comes over as being heartless to the point of being cruel. – © Mark Alexander
Au Royaume-Uni, les tarifs réglementés de l’énergie vont augmenter de 80 % à partir d’octobre : Les prix du gaz et de l’électricité ont flambé depuis le début de la guerre en Ukraine. D’après l’université de York, les deux tiers des ménages au Royaume-Uni seront plongés dans la précarité énergétique d’ici à janvier 2023. »
