LONDON — The frontrunner in the race to
become the
UK’s next prime minister, Liz Truss, vowed Sunday that if appointed
she will present a plan to tackle soaring energy bills within a week.
اضافة اعلان
Talking to the BBC a day ahead of the Conservative
leadership announcement, the foreign minister expected to succeed Boris Johnson
said: “If I’m elected prime minister, I will act immediately on bills and on
energy supply.”
She declined to give details before her appointment
is confirmed, saying simply: “Within one week I will make sure there is an
announcement on how we are going to deal with the issue.”
The Tory leadership race has stretched over eight
weeks as Britain faces decades-high levels of inflation and is tipped to enter
recession later this year.
British households are facing an eye-watering
80-percent average hike in electricity and gas bills, in a dramatic worsening
of the cost-of-living crisis before winter.
Truss, 47, has topped polls among the estimated
200,000 Conservative Party members who pick the next leader, outshining her
rival Rishi Sunak, the 42-year-old former finance minister.
Truss previously decried direct handouts, but last
week vowed to “deliver immediate support to ensure people are not facing
unaffordable fuel bills” this winter.
Truss’s campaign has promised tax cuts but critics
note those would do nothing to benefit the poorest.
On Sunday she stressed she believes tax cuts that
benefit the wealthy are fair and promote growth.
“To look at everything through the lens of
redistribution (of wealth), I believe is wrong,” she said.
Sunak has promised further government support to
help people pay their energy bills and said curbing inflation would be his
priority, attacking Truss’s tax-slashing plans as reckless.
“Helping people with the cost of living and energy
bills comes above everything else that I might like to do,” he told the BBC on
Sunday.
Sunak appeared to accept his likely defeat and offer
backing to Truss, saying that if he loses: “I look forward to supporting the
Conservative government in whatever capacity” and confirming he would stay on
as an MP.
The announcement of the next party leader, who will
become prime minister, will be made Monday.
Queen Elizabeth II will then
formally appoint Johnson’s successor on Tuesday.
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