Truss v Sunak: Rivals to succeed Boris Johnson blasted over 'fantasy' economic plans

euronews.com:

Britain's leading politicians have been accused of coming up with "pure fantasy" solutions to the country's problems, amid the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

At the same time, the government has been denounced as "missing in action", distracted by the Conservative Party's leadership race to determine who will replace Boris Johnson.

The outgoing prime minister's office confirmed on Monday that he had begun a week's holiday, his second break in a fortnight. Downing Street said last week that it would be up to "the future prime minister" to take new measures.

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, the two remaining contenders to succeed Johnson, have been concentrating on winning over party members who are voting this month for the new leader.

It comes at a time when the economy is facing a prolonged recession and UK inflation is the highest in the G7, hitting a 40-year high this summer. In July it rose to 9.4%, and the Bank of England expects it to hit double figures come October when household energy bills are due to rise again.

Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, is unimpressed with the economic plans of both Tory leadership rivals, as well as those of the Labour opposition.

"We (economists) tend to look at difficult things like costs and benefits, trade-offs, pros and cons. Our political leaders seem less and less willing to acknowledge that such trade-offs even exist. Apparently, we can have our cake and eat it," he wrote in an article published on Monday.

Truss, the foreign secretary, has said she prefers tax cuts to "handouts", and has not committed to increasing direct payments to consumers.

Sunak, the former chancellor (finance minister), has backed "urgent help" to enable people to pay bills, without