Cost of living response hindered by Johnson-Sunak rift, say ministers
Cabinet ministers are frustrated that a “mano a mano” standoff between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak is holding up measures to help people through the cost of living crisis.
Downing Street denied there was a rift between No 10 and No 11, with one source insisting that the prime minister and the chancellor were on the same page but simply taking time to find the right way to “target help at the most vulnerable”.
Nevertheless, cabinet sources told the Guardian that there was frustration at the probable delay of the package to help people hit by inflation and a squeeze on household budgets.
An economic rescue package – short of an emergency budget but containing promise of help with bills or tax cuts – was pencilled in for Wednesday but government sources said it was now unlikely to come this week.
One cabinet minister said the pair were locked in a “mano a mano” standoff – a phrase meaning hand-to-hand fighting – over a windfall tax on energy companies, about which rightwing advisers in No 10 are known to be sceptical, as well as how best to help struggling households.
They lamented the fact that clashes between No 10 and the Treasury had repeatedly resulted in messy political compromises – such as going ahead with April’s national insurance increase to avoid Sunak appearing to U-turn, before handing back some of the proceeds by raising the threshold.
There are concerns that a similar approach to the windfall tax issue could result in a complex measure, potentially involving more council tax or energy bill discounts, that would fall flat politically. “That is where this is heading,” the cabinet minister said.
A cabinet source said they wanted help for families to come “sooner rather than later” because the delays were harming the
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