Liz truss

Liz Truss will look at reviving a plan said to have been blocked by Rishi Sunak in which oil companies fund petrol vouchers for pensioners.

Downing Street officials held talks with the bosses of big firms on the possibility of a voluntary scheme to ease the cost of living .

Under the proposals, the oil giants would have funnelled some of their profits into a fund that would have been used to help those who are struggling.

Bernard Looney, the chief executive of BP, is understood to have been a supporter of the ideas and was prepared to put in more than £1billion.

Instead of going ahead with the plan as chancellor, Mr Sunak decided instead to impose a windfall tax on oil and gas firms.

‘Rishi blocked it because he is only keen on ideas he thinks of himself,’ a source told the Sunday Times. Last night a source close to Miss Truss said she would look again at the proposals for a voluntary scheme if she becomes PM.

The Tory leadership favourite has ruled out imposing a further windfall tax on oil and gas firms, but her camp has said she will not scrap the existing levy introduced by Mr Sunak earlier this year.

Petrol prices are already beginning to ease thanks to plummeting wholesale rates, just weeks after they hit a record high. Wholesale prices fell 10p a litre by the start of July, 20p by the middle of July, and 30p from August 4.

The AA has said prices at the pumps are on course to dip below 160p a litre.

Figures compiled by the motoring group last week showed petrol was on average 175.2p a litre, which is substantially down on the record of 191.5p, set on July 3.

Diesel also appears to be tumbling, from 190.01p a litre a fortnight ago to 185.9p last week. Mr Sunak cut fuel duty by 5p a litre in March but faced ridicule when he posed for a photo opportunity at a Sainsbury’s in London.

It emerged the Kia Rio he was filling up belonged to a supermarket worker. He also struggled with his contactless card.

Mr Sunak’s supporters last night insisted his campaign is not doomed even as a poll showed Miss Truss holds a commanding lead.

With just three weeks until Britain’s next prime minister is chosen, the Opinium survey put the Foreign Secretary 22 points ahead.

Miss Truss received 61 per cent support, with Mr Sunak trailing on 39 per cent in the poll of 570 Conservative members.

When offered the choice between Boris Johnson remaining in No10 or Miss Truss taking over, some 63 per cent said they would prefer the current PM, while 22 per cent wanted the Tory leadership favourite.

Even more starkly, 68 per cent said they would prefer to have Mr Johnson over Mr Sunak, who was preferred by just 19 per cent. Allies of the former chancellor yesterday questioned the accuracy of polls as they attempted to put on a brave face.

Asked if the campaign is now ‘doomed’, energy minister Greg Hands, who is supporting Mr Sunak, told Times Radio: ‘I disagree, actually.

‘The feeling we get on the ground, particularly from Conservative member meetings, is very strong and very positive.’

Mr Hands added: ‘I put a bit of doubt on those polls, it’s quite hard to poll the Conservative Party membership because you’ve got to find them and then they’ve got to self-declare.’

It came as The Mail on Sunday revealed the findings of a shock poll that suggested either Tory leadership candidate would be beaten by Labour at the next election.

In the mega-poll of more than 10,000 people by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, 56 per cent given a straight choice said they would prefer Sir Keir Starmer and Labour to a Conservative government led by Mr Sunak.

In comparison, 55 per cent would prefer a Labour government to the Tories with Miss Truss at the helm.

Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Lord Ashcroft said: ‘The powerful message that it is time for a change will be hard to counter, even among those who rejected Labour so decisively in 2019.’

Bank of England chief

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Now Mr Bailey has reportedly admitted it could be ‘the right thing’ to review the institution’s remit.

A source told the Telegraph that in a telephone call with Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Mr Bailey acknowledged that the Bank’s mandate has not been formally examined since it became independent in 1997.

‘He said that he would be open to a review, independence is important, but we haven’t had a review since independence and therefore it is probably the right thing,’ according to the source.

This month, the Bank hiked interest rates by 0.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent – the largest increase for 27 years. However, critics believe it should have acted faster.

Raising interest rates is a key way to slow the pace at which prices are rising.

Inflation hit 9.4 per cent in June and the Bank has already warned it could pass 13 per cent this year.

Ms Truss has said she intends to review the Bank’s mandate if she becomes PM to ‘make sure it is tough enough on inflation’.

We are set for tough times over the next year, but I have never believed in consigning ourselves to decline. I am focused on seeing our economy and country through to better days by growing the size of the pie, boosting wages, and supporting jobs to save us from the misery of recession.

As Prime Minister, I will pursue a clear, consistent and truly Conservative plan to build a high-growth and more productive economy. This is key to delivering what Mail on Sunday readers want to see: more opportunity, improved public services, safer streets, job security, and better prospects for our children.

I will work incredibly hard to make this happen by driving through my bold new economic agenda. Sticking with a business-as-usual approach will not be enough to turn things around. We need a new direction, which I offer.

Fundamentally, my approach is about growth and investment not tax and spend. I know having spoken to hundreds of members across our country during this campaign how fed up they are with being taxed to the hilt as they struggle to make ends meet.

This is the time for decisive leadership and new ideas, not tired technocracy. I will challenge civil servants to get things done faster. I will turn the page on Gordon Brown-style economics, where taxpayers see their hard-earned money taken and some of it handed back out as benefits. Labour-lite policies risk undermining the promises we made to the British people in 2019, and would betray the huge promise of Brexit and the opportunity it offers to unleash our economy.

That is why, if elected leader, I will ensure we Conservatives stay true to our core principles of low taxes, enterprise and hard work. I will lead us back on to the road of true Conservatism and put us into the fast lane of economic growth. No longer will business or profit be a dirty word, no longer will we apologise for being the Party of entrepreneurs, strivers and innovators, or shy away from taking the difficult decisions on the economy that have been holding Britain back.

Lowering taxes helps people by putting more money back in their pockets. But just as importantly, it is an incredible catalytic force for free enterprise and growth over the long-term, showing that Britain is open for business and open to opportunity.

I will act on tax from day one in Downing Street. In an emergency budget, I will provide immediate help with the cost of living by reversing the rise in National Insurance and suspending the green levy on energy bills. Such steps are necessary, affordable and Conservatism at its best. My government will do everything possible to help those struggling with the cost of living. There is work going on in Government on what more can be done and I will consider these proposals once in office. That is the responsible thing to do rather than commit to action without knowing all the facts and options.

I will also enact a longer-term plan to really get our economy moving. I will continue what Boris Johnson started on Brexit and tear through EU red tape by the end of 2023. This includes reforms to help pension funds invest billions of pounds more in British infrastructure.

I will support businesses across the country like never before, the City of London and great metro mayors like Andy Street in the West Midlands to level up our country in a Conservative way. Building a strong economy, and getting the private sector motoring right across the country, is critical to ensuring our Union doesn’t just survive, but thrives. I will deliver for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England. People have been let down in the devolved administrations by nationalist and Left-wing parties, which is why I’m talking to members across our Union about what clear Conservative leadership can offer.

I was in Cardiff earlier this month and will be in Scotland next week, meeting whisky distillers who I helped to thrive by getting tariffs suspended on their exports to the United States.

I am focused on growing our economy and therefore creating jobs, creating new opportunities, and boosting wages for people across our United Kingdom. A growing economy is about more than numbers on a Treasury spreadsheet. It is about supporting real people and showing that a rising tide really does lift all ships.

Ultimately, I want a country that nurtures and unleashes aspiration, an aspiration nation where people from all backgrounds and all parts can realise their dreams.

That is my positive vision for the future: a Britain with a world-beating economy, that differs fundamentally from the EU, where people are able to succeed regardless of their background, that does not apologise for our values, our history or who we are, but instead looks forward to even brighter days ahead.

By going for growth and staying true to our convictions, my Conservative government will deliver for the British people like never before.