Rishi Sunak vs Liz Truss: Who said what on energy crisis, taxes, immigration and China

Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss

The final countdown in the over six-week gruelling campaign for the governing Conservative Party to elect a new leader who will succeed ousted Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister is now underway, with the winner between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to be declared today at 5 PM (IST).

The two finalists in the race will find out around 10 minutes before the public announcement as to who between them has clinched the top job at 10 Downing Street.

Here's what position Sunak and Truss took on key policies during their campaign for the UK's top post:

Energy crisis

Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pledged to tackle the energy crisis sending household bills spiralling in the UK as a priority.

While the Indian-origin former Chancellor reiterated his approach of offering targeted support to people on lower incomes, the foreign secretary refrained from spelling her plans out to only say that she will “act immediately” if elected.

“What I have said is that I will provide direct financial support; I announced some of that as Chancellor and I would go further as Prime Minister as the situation has deteriorated,” he said.

On taxes

Truss, the frontrunner in the leadership contest, said the central bank's prediction of recession can be changed by cutting taxes. She said the government's decision to raise the tax burden to the highest level since the 1950s was to blame for pushing the economy towards a recession.

Sunak said the projected surge in inflation reinforced his view that Truss would be reckless to increase borrowing and cut taxes now. Sunak said Truss's plan would lead to higher inflation and has instead pledged to cut taxes over time.

"If we just put fuel on the fire this inflation spiral, all of us, all of you, will end up with higher mortgage rates, savings and pensions that are eaten away and misery for millions. I don't want that for you."

On immigration

Rishi Sunak pledged to fix the UK’s “broken” asylum system and crack down on illegal boat crossings from France if he becomes prime minister, while his rival, Liz Truss, said she’ll push to send more migrants to third countries for processing.

Under Sunak, the Parliament would determine the number of refugees the UK accepts every year, and those fleeing imminent danger would be prioritized, he wrote.

Truss said she plans to fully implement the government’s Rwanda policy, explore similar partnerships with other countries, and push for reforms to the ECHR so it “works better” for Britain. She said she’ll increase the UK’s frontline border force by 20 percent and double the border force’s maritime staffing levels.

On China

Both contenders have been held up by their party members for not taking a strong stance on Russia as well as China.

Sunak said China represented “the largest threat to Britain and the world’s security and prosperity this century” and proposed a series of measures to reduce Beijing’s influence in the UK.

Sunak has said he would ban all 30 branches of the Confucius Institute in the UK.

Truss said she is much more willing than the former chancellor to stand up to Beijing. She further said that UK should crack down on Chinese-owned TikTok.

With inputs from agencies