Liz Truss has been revealed as the next UK prime minister with 81,326 votes to Rishi Sunak’s 60,399.
The result comes after a short but tense leadership race where both contenders were quizzed on how they would handle a number of pressing government issues, including inflation and the cost of living crisis.
But with Boris Johnson accused of “doing nothing” to help households struggling with record-breaking price increases, there is mounting pressure on his successor to implement emergency measures to tackle the rising cost of living.
In this article, we’ll discuss how Liz Truss plans to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis and whether we can expect further financial support under her leadership.
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She has promised to deliver £30 billion in tax cuts
Truss has promised to deliver around £30 billion in tax cuts as part of an emergency budget that includes a reversal of the 1.25% rise in National Insurance contributions (NICs) announced in April.
However, when faced with criticism that this would only benefit the rich, she said: “The people at the top of the income distribution pay more tax – so inevitably, when you cut taxes you tend to benefit people who are more likely to pay tax.”
She then added: “To look at everything through the lens of redistribution I believe is wrong. Because what I’m about is growing the economy – and growing the economy benefits everybody.”
She has vowed to “act immediately”
During an interview on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the day before her victory was revealed, Truss promised to “act immediately” to help people with rising household bills if she was elected.
She also added that further financial support would need to go “hand in hand” with a plan to boost domestic energy supplies before arguing that the UK had grown too dependent on international energy prices.
This comes as pressure mounts on the government to do something to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis before the latest energy price cap is implemented in just a few weeks’ time.
She will announce a plan within a week
During the same interview, Truss reassured viewers that she would have a plan to help households with rising energy bills within a week in the hopes that this will put the country on the ‘on the right footing for winter’.
When quizzed about what the plan would include, she failed to provide further details and argued that she would need more time to settle into her role before finalising her exact proposal.
But with the energy price cap soaring to £3,549, inflation at its highest level in 40 years and the economy on track to fall into a recession before the end of the year, struggling families face an anxious wait to find out if they will be eligible for further financial support.
She could freeze energy bills
Truss has so far remained tight-lipped about what kind of financial support she will introduce but early reports are indicating that she “will go bigger than expected” as speculation mounts that she might freeze energy bills for millions of households.
This comes as energy bosses and MPs call for a freeze on the current energy price cap of £1,971 before the 80% increase comes into force on October 1 in a bid to protect households against soaring energy bills.
But with the increased energy price cap expected to be introduced in just a few weeks’ time, the clock is ticking for such a plan to be implemented before the weather gets colder, energy bills soar and the true extent of the cost of living crisis is revealed.
How did Rishi Sunak plan to tackle the cost of living crisis?
Rishi Sunak might have narrowly missed out on the top spot in the race to become the next prime minister but with the cost of living crisis amongst the biggest problems currently facing the UK, we’ve taken a look at how he planned to tackle energy bills if he had been successful.
In a recent statement, he agreed that more financial support was needed: “This winter is going to be extremely tough for families up and down the country, and there is no doubt in my mind that more support will be needed.”
He also vowed to increase the ongoing cost of living payments by “a few hundred pounds” and criticised his opponent’s tax proposals as he believes they “are not going to help” low income families and pensioners who need it the most.
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