Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak engaged in a bitter war of words over the cost of living crisis that is set to cripple households in the North East as they pleaded their cases to Tory members in the region.
The two contenders to become the next Prime Minister were pitted against each other in front of a crowd of Conservative voters in Darlington on Tuesday night, in the fifth of 12 leadership hustings around the country and the only one being held in our region. In one of the traditional Labour heartland constituencies that turned blue in 2019, the candidates pledged to deliver on levelling up promises made to the North East and once again were bitterly divided over how to help families cope with escalating bills.
After Mr Sunak committed to giving people some further cash payments to help ease the financial burden posed by the cost of living crisis, on the day it was predicted that energy bills could top £4,200 next year, Ms Truss accused him of “Gordon Brown economics”. The foreign secretary, who has promised swift tax cuts if she is chosen to succeed Boris Johnson, said she “fundamentally” disagrees with “putting up taxes and then also giving out benefits”.
