According to recent study, two-thirds of respondents want the government to prioritize addressing inflation above tax cuts.
The YouGov survey comes as a caution to leadership frontrunner Liz Truss, who has made tax cuts central to her bid for Prime Minister.
However, just 17% of respondents want the next Prime Minister to prioritize this, compared to 64% who want lowering inflation.
Meanwhile, opponent Rishi Sunak is preparing to unveil his cost-of-living package, which would provide extended assistance to households dealing with rising energy expenses.
Former Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, one of his major friends, backed the poll’s conclusions.
‘You’re going to see energy bills going up to almost £4,000, and if you look at the idea of the tax cuts, this idea of reversing the national insurance contributions, that’s only going to benefit someone working full time on the national living wage by less than £60,’ he told the Times, which commissioned the poll.
‘In comparison, whomever becomes Prime Minister will get a benefit of about £1,800.’ So this is not the way to assist folks get through this terrible time.
‘We have made it plain that we will give direct assistance, and tax cuts will simply not enough.’
It comes after Ms Truss promised yesterday that if she becomes Prime Minister, she would reduce taxes ‘immediately’ to aid struggling families.
The Tory leadership candidate would use an emergency Budget next month to overturn the national insurance rise implemented earlier this year by former chancellor Rishi Sunak.
The raise was expected to be implemented in April, but her campaign staff now thinks it may be repealed within weeks of her gaining office.
Mr Sunak’s campaign team cautioned that the change would only increase full-time wages on the national living wage by £59.
Both leadership candidates were chastised yesterday for having ‘inadequate’ measures to cope with the rising expenditures.
Miss Truss was also accused of doing another U-turn on statements she made last week in which she argued that tax cuts, not “handouts,” will assist households deal with skyrocketing gasoline prices this winter. One of her allies, Penny Mordaunt, claimed the Foreign Secretary’s views had been “misrepresented.”
Lord Howell, who served as energy minister under Margaret Thatcher, said the contenders’ measures to assist families cope with growing living costs were ‘totally insufficient.’
‘They are not addressing the trauma that is going to paralyze the lives of a great number of families in this nation,’ he told LBC.
Miss Mordaunt, the trade minister, disputed Miss Truss was against providing people more assistance with their bills after the leadership candidate stated in an interview on Friday: ‘The way I would do things is in a Conservative approach of lessening the tax burden, not handing out freebies.’
‘It’s not that she’s ruling out all future support,’ Miss Mordaunt said. What she is looking at is allowing individuals to retain more of their earnings.’
Mr Sunak’s spokesperson said yesterday night: ‘Liz Truss has to explain to the millions of people anxious about increasing bills in the fall whether she stands by the statement she made [on] Friday ruling out more assistance payments or has now altered her mind and is prepared to consider them.’
Former Tory party chairman Oliver Dowden, who supports Mr Sunak, called Miss Truss’ planned tax cuts ‘insufficient.’
He told BBC News: ‘You’re going to see energy prices rise to almost £4,000, and if you look at the tax cuts, this concept of reversing national insurance payments – that’s only going to help someone working full-time on the national living wage by less than £60. In comparison, whomever becomes Prime Minister will have a benefit of almost £1,800.’
‘There’s a truly bad irony that Rishi has gone from saying giving urgent support on cost of living was ‘fairytales’ to now claiming he’ll provide billions and criticizing Liz on it,’ claimed a Miss Truss ally. ‘Serious shapeshifter stuff.’ Meanwhile, Gordon Brown has urged Boris Johnson, Mr Sunak, and Miss Truss to agree to emergency steps “this week.”
‘The Prime Minister is on vacation, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is on vacation, and the two leadership contenders for Prime Minister are on the campaign trail,’ added the former prime minister.
‘At the center of government, not enough thought is being given to the big socioeconomic issue.’
According to a Labour research, £1 in every £5 spent by British elderly this winter would go toward heating expenses.