Insiders say Sunak was resistant to spending money on climate measures when he ran the Treasury. Rishi Sunak would set a new legal target for the UK to be energy independent by 2045 at the latest and has committed to maintaining the government’s legally binding goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and has assured the Tories’ green wing he would protect the environment. Her economic message has been based on low tax and low regulation, and she told the Spectator she would treat borrowing built up during the pandemic like a war debt to be written off over a long period.Ġ0:58 Liz Truss: 'My tax cuts will decrease inflation' – video Climate Liz Truss has pledged to reverse the national insurance rate rise, which was designed to fund health and social care. Sunak has also promised to lower taxes by 20% by the end of the decade, more specifically that he would cut the basic rate of income tax to 16p if the Conservatives are re-elected in 2024. The handout would be worth £160 for every household. However, later in the race to Number 10, he promised to scrap VAT on household fuel bills for a year. He has said he aims to cut taxes but wants to tackle inflation first.
When challenged with claims he was a “high-tax chancellor”, he took aim at other candidates offering “comforting fairytales” rather than face the hard economic reality. Rishi Sunak has promised “a return to traditional Conservative economic values”, a position seen variously as an appeal to instinctive Tory fiscal prudence, or a desire to return to “austerity economics”.