Tory frontrunner Liz Truss has rejected pleas to help everyone with soaring energy bills immediately and is instead focusing on tax cuts, sources say.
The Foreign Secretary is under intense pressure to set out her plans to help struggling Brits amid widespread expectations she will win the Tory leadership race in September.
She has promised "decisive action" if she wins, with an emergency Budget expected next month as households brace for calamitous hikes to their energy bills in October.
But Ms Truss, who has previously dismissed “handouts” for hard-hit families, is expected to favour tax cuts over universal support on bills.
Her allies insisted she hasn't taken anything off the table after the BBC reported sources saying she had "ruled out" further direct support, like the £400 payment all households will get this winter.
She is focusing on tax cuts and boosting productivity, before looking at what further support is needed, The Mirror understands.
Options on the table include slashing VAT by 5% and reductions to income tax, by raising the tipping point for the higher rate of 40% and cutting the basic rate below 20%.
Rishi Sunak ’s campaign blasted the move as "incredibly regressive" and said it would cost north of £30billion.
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden said families were worrying about making ends meet.
"They deserve more than this from the Tories," he said.
“ Liz Truss must urgently reconsider a position that would leave millions of households across the country without proper support. People need the Government to act now."
Meanwhile, lame duck PM Boris Johnson admitted the next few months would be “very tough” but predicted a “remarkable bounceback” from eye-watering bills.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he blamed Russia for rising energy costs and said Britain must not “buckle” in the face of Vladimir Putin ’s aggression.
It comes as Ms Truss' supporters were warned against assuming the Tory leadership contest is "in the bag", as it looks "a bit smug".
The Foreign Secretary is widely expected to secure victory as the vicious leadership race enters its final stretch, with the winner due to be confirmed next week.
But ex-Cabinet Minister Simon Hart said premature celebrations were "really dangerous" and pointed to the shocks of the 2019 general election, Brexit and Boris Johnson's own leadership win.
The Rishi Sunak backer told Sky News: "If I was in Liz Truss's camp, I would be really nervous at the moment about my supporters going round saying 'it's in the bag and I've got a job in the Cabinet', and all that kind of stuff.
"I think it looks a bit smug. I think she would be worried about that."
Tory MPs were said to be suffering sellers' remorse for ousting Mr Johnson, with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps branding it a "mistake".
Some senior Conservatives are said to be unhappy with the contest and considering whether the outgoing PM is a better bet.
One former minister told the Sunday Times: “People have seen the alternatives now and they aren’t convinced.”
Mr Johnson is reportedly "raging" at Rishi Sunak for the ex-Chancellor's role in his downfall and remains worried that he could snatch a shock victory.
He is also said to be considering a shock appearance at the Tory party conference in October, in a sign that he could prove a headache for Ms Truss if she wins the contest.
Meanwhile, Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg is plotting to sell off £1.5 billion worth of Government offices in London as he ramps up his war on working from home.
The Efficiency Minister said taxpayers should not have to "fork out for half-empty buildings" and said that expensive office space had been "under-utilised".
Officials would enjoy a “better quality of life” if their jobs were shifted to offices outside London, he told the Sunday Telegraph.
Mr Rees-Mogg is expected to publish a blueprint this week to consolidate staff into fewer buildings as part of a network of Government "hubs".
The top Tory was criticised earlier this year for leaving "passive aggressive" notes for civil servants if they weren't at their desks.
The paper notes said: “Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.
“With every good wish, Jacob Rees-Mogg.”
The Mirror revealed today that Mr Rees-Mogg spent £1,332 of taxpayers’ cash travelling to, from and around Wrexham by chauffeur-driven limousine.
A train ticket for the trip on July 21 would have cost £98.
His spokesman said: “There had been a lot of disruption on trains around then and he was going to multiple locations and finishing outside London, I think back in Somerset.”
