ANTI-POVERTY activists have hit out at Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss’s lack of action on the cost of living crisis as The National’s analysis found the issue is barely mentioned on their social media campaigning.
On Thursday, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that people will have to wait until the next Tory leader is elected before expecting any help from the UK Government.
And, while “caretaker” Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi are currently on holiday, the Bank of England warned of a looming recession set to last longer than in 2008.
Our findings showed that both Sunak and Truss are prioritising a number of other topics - like Brexit and beating Labour - instead of planning to combat the crisis which could cost lives.
Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, told The National that the next PM should promise to “put justice and compassion at the heart of our public life”.
He added: “Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have a moral responsibility to protect people from the man-made financial disaster that is now threatening too many of us.
“They should be talking about redesigning our economy, to make sure that work delivers the incomes that people need to live. They should be promising sustained investment in our social security, to help people keep their heads above water when they need it.
"And they should be planning emergency action to make sure that no vulnerable household is left without gas and electricity because they can’t afford their bills.
“Government has the power to tackle poverty and low incomes – all we need is politicians with the courage and compassion to do it. That’s what they should be tweeting about.”
Don’t Pay, a grassroots campaign demanding an urgent reduction in energy bills and calling for customers to cancel their direct debits if action isn’t taken, said the Tories leadership on the cost of living has been a “disgraceful failure”.
Sandra Irving, one of the campaign’s organisers, told The National: "It's crystal clear from the Tory hustings that neither of the contenders are willing to even recognise the calamity of energy price hikes that’ll devastate millions of us, let alone have any kind of plan to address it.
“It's this disgraceful failure of political leadership that is pushing tens of thousands of ordinary people to pledge non-payment of their bills come October.
“Together, we’ll send this government the message that they can no longer play with our lives."
