In a televised leadership interview, the foreign secretary was challenged on the Bank’s gloomy forecast on Thursday as it raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage points. “What the Bank of England said today is, of course, extremely worrying. But it’s not inevitable,” he said. “We can change the outcome and we can make the economy more likely to grow.” Truss and her Conservative leadership rival Rishi Sunak were each grilled by a joint studio panel of Conservative members and Sky News presenter Kay Burley. Mr Sunak, who emerged after Mr Truss, stepped up his criticism of her £30bn plan for unfunded tax cuts, claiming it would lead to “misery for millions”. “The lights in the economy are flashing red and the root cause is inflation. I am concerned that Liz Truss’ plans will make the situation worse,” he said. “If we just add fuel to the fire of this spiral of inflation, all of us, all of you, will end up with higher mortgage rates, eating into savings and pensions, and misery for millions.” But Truss insisted that “now is the time to be bold, because if we don’t act now, we are headed for very, very difficult times”, reiterating her policies to reverse the recent rise in national insurance contributions and halt planned increases in corporation tax . Asked what else she would do to tackle skyrocketing energy prices, Truss cited her existing policy of temporarily pausing green levies that add around £150 to household bills. Truss rejected the idea of a windfall tax on the big profits of energy companies. “Shareholders are not all men in suits sitting in offices. There is no such thing as free money, and I just think we have to be very careful if the UK gets a reputation for taking arbitrary money in taxes.” Sunak also said he would do more as prime minister to help hard-pressed consumers during the coming winter. He recently announced his commitment to cut VAT on energy bills – a policy he has rejected in the past. When asked about the recession, he said, “It’s not the tax burden that causes the recession. This is simply wrong. What causes recession is inflation. This is the root of the problems, not only here, but in America and elsewhere.” Rishi Sunak claimed his opponent’s tax plans would lead to “misery for millions”. Photo: Sky News The Trust was strongly challenged by two members of the audience – on public finances and its inappropriate announcement of pay cuts for public sector workers. Jill of Tunbridge Wells accused Truss of not taking the need to balance the books seriously enough. “The only thing Margaret Thatcher believed in was good money,” he said. “Fifteen percent interest rates, I remember those days. I had to pay a 15% mortgage, are we going to go back to that level again?’ Truss answered “no” and went on to emphasize the dangers of high taxes to economic growth. Another member of the public, Tom from Gateshead, pressed Truss on the plan for regional pay councils which she withdrew earlier this week. “Why should we trust your judgment?” Pointing out that it would mean lower pay for public sector workers in his local area of Newcastle, he added: “Are you going to apologize because it was really very offensive?” Truss responded, “I don’t think there’s anything I should be ashamed of, saying publicly that this isn’t working the way I wanted it to work, and therefore, I’ve changed my position on it.” Sunak was accused by an audience member, Stephen, of plotting to topple Johnson and resigned last month in a cynical bid to win the leadership. Citing the scandal involving former Tory whip Chris Pincher, who was promoted by Johnson despite multiple allegations of sexual harassment, Sunak insisted “this was a serious moral question that the government was on the wrong side of again, and I couldn’t defend it. “. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST In contrast, Truss strongly defended Boris Johnson. When Burley said she had “stood shoulder to shoulder with a man who betrayed the office of Prime Minister”, Truss insisted: “Yes, he made mistakes, that’s absolutely true. he’s apologized for the mistakes he’s made – but I think it’s completely wrong to characterize him that way.” Questioning Truss’s widespread support among cabinet members and former leadership contenders, including his former boss Sajid Javid, Sunak singled out hardliners who have backed him, including former leaders William Hague and Michael Howard. In a show of hands after the show, Sunak was the clear winner among the audience of Conservative members. After the debate, Sunak announced a new housing policy, saying he would introduce a building fee, which would charge developers a fee if they are granted planning permission and fail to build the homes they promised. He said the policy would help promote home ownership – although he has also promised to tighten planning restrictions on the green belt. “I will do whatever it takes to build homes that are affordable and plentiful, while protecting the green belt – spreading the joy and fulfillment of home ownership, building the next generation of Tory voters and keeping Labor out of power,” he said.
