The two candidates have been trading blows over tax cuts
(Picture: PA Media)The rival Tory leadership campaigns have continued trading blows over tax-cutting plans as the race to become Prime Minister entered its final fortnight.
Liz Truss supporters on Monday accused Rishi Sunak of “flip-flopping” on proposals to slash tax on energy bills to help families with the spiralling cost of gas and electricity.
The former chancellor has said he will save the average household £160 by removing the five per cent VAT on energy payments for 12 months, despite opposing the plan when he was in charge of the Treasury.
Senior Tory MP Sir John Redwood said: “Rishi has flip flopped over tax cuts. He told us they were all unaffordable. Now he thinks we can afford a VAT cut plus more help with energy bills for those on low incomes.
“He makes up what is affordable as he goes along, based on what he thinks he needs to say to win votes.”
The former Cabinet minister, who is supporting Ms Truss, added: “Rishi still does not understand how inflation took off when he was Chancellor.”
But supporters of Mr Sunak accused Ms Truss of “magic money tree” promises on tax cuts and said the Foreign Secretary should be more transparent about her plans to address the cost-of-living crisis.
Ms Truss has vowed to call an emergency budget and bring forward urgent plans to address rising energy bills if elected to replace Boris Johnson.
She has promised £30 billion in tax cuts, arguing they will help the UK economy grow and boost prosperity. But Conservative MP Mel Stride, who chairs the Commons Treasury Committee, called into question reports she is not planning to ask the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for a forecast ahead of the measures.
Mr Stride, who is supporting Mr Sunak for leader, told LBC: “At the moment the Liz camp are saying I believe that there will not be any OBR forecast produced at that time and that is kind of like flying blind.
“It means that you do all these dramatic things on tax etcetera but you don’t actually know what the independent forecaster believes the impact will be on the public finances and I think that is quite a serious situation.”
