It has pledged to scrap VAT on energy bills for a year, saving around £160 on the average household bill as energy prices soar this winter. He also promises a major new investment tax cut this autumn, replacing the so-called “excess allowance”. Mr Sunak has previously resisted calls for immediate tax cuts amid the cost of living crisis, saying instead that the nation needs “honesty and accountability, not fairy tales”. He had pledged to focus on controlling inflation and cut taxes only when that happened, presenting his position as “common sense Thatcherism”. Borrowing: Mr Sunak has repeatedly said the nation needs to balance its books. He has warned that “borrowing your way out of inflation is not a plan” and challenged Mrs Truss on her promise to borrow more to fund her tax cuts. He said: “This is the country’s credit card and it’s our children and grandchildren, all the children here are going to pick up the tab for this. There’s nothing conservative about that.” Net Zero: He has pledged to maintain the goal of making Britain carbon neutral by 2050. To achieve this he would oversee a huge expansion in offshore wind farms, but maintain a ban on new onshore turbines. It wants to make the UK self-sufficient in energy by 2045. Trans: The former chancellor has made his position on trans rights clear. He said: “The fact that we should be having a debate about what a woman is is frankly brilliant. As a parent of two young daughters and married to one, I know exactly what a woman is. We don’t need to have a debate about it. I will stand up for women’s rights , whether it’s language that people are now trying to erase from public life, access to locker rooms, sports – we have to stand up for women’s rights. It’s not bigoted or narrow-minded to say that.” Mr Sunak began campaign promising a new “manifesto for women’s rights.” He has pledged to protect the terms “women” and “mother” as he accused the Equality Act of promoting “woke nonsense”.
