Liz Truss

Liz Truss, who is widely expected to win the Conservative leadership contest, has pledged she will make an announcement on support for energy bills “o...

“And what I think is completely wrong is the idea that we take huge swathes of people’s money … Sticking plasters and kicking the can down the road will not do,” she said. Former Chancellor and fellow leadership contender Rishi Sunak. “And we need to make sure that we get through it and we need to have every tool in the toolbox and that certainly – as we're seeing in European countries – is certainly one of them. But what I am saying philosophically is I always favour people keeping more of their own money first. “What I can say is that if I'm elected as prime minister, within one week, I will make sure there is an announcement on how we are going to deal with the issue of energy bills and of long term supply to put this country on the right footing for winter,” Truss told the BBC.

Truss is facing Rishi Sunak, the government's former Treasury chief, in the contest to become Conservative Party leader.

Truss is facing Rishi Sunak, the government's former Treasury chief, in the contest to become Conservative Party leader and so prime minister. Goldman Sachs has estimated that inflation could soar to 22% by next year unless something is done to mitigate high energy prices. She stressed, however, that she understands the magnitude of the problems facing Britain.

The Tory leadership favourite says she would act immediately on bills - but gives no further details.

But she added: "To look at everything through the lens of redistribution I believe is wrong. And what's happened is we've had relatively low growth". He also said he couldn't rule out the prospect of blackouts over the winter to ration supplies, as the situation was "serious" and "every tool in the toolbox" would be needed. Pressed on whether richer people would benefit more from the cut, 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 added that further support would need to go "hand in hand" with a plan to boost domestic energy supplies, arguing the UK had become too dependent on international energy prices. Speaking on BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Foreign Secretary Ms Truss said action on energy bills would be "vital" for people and the economy.

Liz Truss has said it is fair to give higher earners more money back through tax cuts, saying recent Tory policy has failed to grow the economy.

More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. “But to look at everything through the lens of redistribution I believe is wrong because what I'm about is about growing the economy and growing the economy benefits everybody.” Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Both candidates renewed their pledge to tackle UK's worsening energy crisis that has resulted in soaring energy bills for households as a priority as the countdown to the new British Prime Minister taking charge at 10 Downing Street edges towards its conclusion.

In today's newsletter: From forming a cabinet to countering Covid, how will the presumptive next prime minister get started?

[Sign up here](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/the-upside-sign-up-for-our-weekly-email) for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Meanwhile, [Brighton beat Leicester 5-2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/04/brighton-leicester-premier-league-match-report) to leave the visitors still bottom of the table. [has beaten defending champion and world No 1 Daniil Medvedev](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/sep/05/nick-kyrgios-stuns-world-no-1-daniil-medvedev-to-reach-us-open-last-eight) to reach the last eight of the US Open. [Merope Mills’ piece](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/sep/03/13-year-old-daughter-dead-in-five-weeks-hospital-mistakes)for Saturday magazine about the preventable errors that led to the death of her daughter Martha is a staggering indictment of medical failure. [won a thrilling match against Arsenal 3-1](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/04/manchester-united-arsenal-premier-league-match-report), with a goal from debutant Antony and two from Marcus Rashford. The Mail’s lead, about Joe Lycett’s appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, is “Now BBC comic mocks Liz Truss” while in Scotland the Record leads with the verdict of Nicola Sturgeon on the Tory race: “Truss will be a disaster”. With pressure on NHS resources also likely to be elevated by an [especially acute flu season](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/09/what-are-the-impending-threats-to-the-nhs-this-autumn), Truss and her likely choice as health secretary Thérèse Coffey may come under pressure from medical and scientific advisers to act – but Truss has already ruled out further lockdowns, and [said that](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2022/aug/25/conservative-party-hustings-covid-lockdown-went-too-far-say-truss-and-sunak-video) restrictions at the peak of the pandemic were too strict. [low personal favourability ratings](https://novaramedia.com/2022/08/30/voters-already-hate-liz-truss/) – and a winter of fuel poverty in the post. [she said in July](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/ukraines-greatest-friend-uks-truss-pledges-more-support-kyiv-2022-07-28/). Truss appears to have little interest in conciliation: she has [promised to legislate within 30 days](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/25/liz-truss-pledges-crackdown-on-unions-but-is-accused-of-tory-fantasy) to restrict key workers’ legal rights to strike through so called “minimum service levels”. Once the immediate emergency is in hand – not that many observers expect that to be easily achieved – Truss told Kuenssberg that “we also need to sort out the supply issues”. On the same programme, Truss spoke in terms that indicated her awareness that she needs to hit the ground running in the midst of economic and energy crises as severe as any a new prime minister has faced in living memory.

If Liz Truss prevails in the race for the Conservative leadership, the 47-year-old will become Britain's third female prime minister. Her opponent Rishi Sunak ...

The announcement of Britain's new prime minister will trigger the beginning of a handover from Boris Johnson, who resigned in July after months of scandal.

Ms Truss, if appointed, will become the Conservatives’ fourth prime minister since a 2015 election. On Tuesday, the winner will travel to Scotland to meet the Queen, who will ask the new leader to form a government. Liz Truss is expected to be named leader of Britain’s governing Conservative Party and the next prime minister, poised to take power at a time when the United Kingdom faces a cost of living crisis, industrial unrest and a recession.

British foreign secretary Liz Truss is expected to be announced as the country's next PM. But can can address the country's systemic issues?

The promise of tax cuts has undoubted appeal for what now constitute core Tory Party members, but does nothing to help the households too poor to pay income tax: nearly 24% in the pre-pandemic tax year, 2018-19. Should Conservative Party members do what they have been promising the pollsters and plump for Liz Truss, in part to punish Rishi Sunak for what some see as his disloyalty to a widely discredited prime minister, the difficulties facing the UK could escalate very quickly. Electioneering and governing demand very different scripts.

If, as widely assumed, Liz Truss takes over from Boris Johnson, it will not just be the nation having to adjust. Labour must adapt at speed from an ...

You can have that happen in little-known ways at the Ministry of Justice, or environment, or trade, but you can’t do that as prime minister.” “She’s got this weird tendency to dig in and say: ‘No, I meant to do that,’” the Labour staffer said. “With Truss you can see the wheels turning in her head. What you have with Truss is the maximum predictability.” “She’s very good at confidently answering a question that she wasn’t asked,” said one Labour staffer who has helped shadow ministers take on Truss in other roles. Labour must adapt at speed from an ideologically flexible prime minister happy to improvise, to one with a much clearer idea of what she wants.

The winner of the Tory leadership contest is revealed later - before becoming PM on Tuesday.

And the stakes are high, for voters are worried about their bills most of all. But also for the Conservative Party, worried about its future. [travel to Balmoral Castle in Scotland](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62728328) to be appointed by the Queen, rather than at Buckingham Palace. That will include tax cuts and help for families and businesses. The original field of 11 contenders was whittled down to two in a series of Tory MP ballots, with the final pair going into a run-off to be decided by the membership, which stands at about 160,000. Mr Johnson was forced out in July by a ministerial revolt over a string of scandals, just over two-and-a-half years after leading the Tories to a landslide victory at the 2019 election. Ms Truss did not rule out a freeze on Sunday but has previously described the idea as a "sticking plaster" and argues more needs to be done to help the UK boost its domestic sources of energy. She said any further support would have to go "hand in hand" with efforts to boost nuclear energy, fracking for shale gas and more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. On Sunday the foreign secretary declined to say whether further help would be universal or targeted at the most needy, saying she would need time in office to iron out the details of her plan. After weeks of talking to Conservative members, the new prime minister will have to start talking to the country immediately. Ms Truss is yet to offer details of her cost-of-living support plan beyond saying she will temporarily scrap green levies on energy bills and reverse the rise in National Insurance introduced during Mr Johnson's tenure. BBC News has been told that a menu of options has been worked up in Whitehall to help struggling households, including a freeze on energy bills.

Expected Tory winner again refuses to reveal details amid growing concerns about her plans to cut taxes.

“But I want to provide reassurance that this will be done in a fiscally responsible way. He said: “Families and businesses are feeling the impact across the United Kingdom and the world. “She’s clearly absolutely right that we’ve had dreadful growth over the last 15 years,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Overnight, the [Times](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/truss-team-hold-talks-on-freezing-energy-bills-rlcq2t6c9) and [Daily Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/09/04/liz-truss-could-freeze-bills-avoid-energy-armageddon/) reported that her team has been in talks about potentially doing this, although such help could be more targeted than Labour’s universal proposal. Writing in the FT, Kwarteng said the UK economy was suffering the impact of the invasion of Ukraine and of Covid. Liz Truss could introduce a price freeze for some energy bills, it has emerged, as the MP widely tipped to be her chancellor if she is announced as the new Conservative leader promised her government would be “bold”.