Kwarteng writes in the Financial Times that while there will need to be “some fiscal easing”, the new government would act in a “fiscally responsible manner”. Tras allies admitted that the Treasury’s fiscal framework would be revised once the latest figures were assessed, “given the severity of the economic shocks we are facing”. Kwarteng would assess the key fiscal rule that debt must decline as a share of national income in the third year of the forecast period to make sure it still works for the economy, they said. The Treasury is allowed to suspend its fiscal rules in the event of a “significant adverse shock to the UK economy” under the Charter for Budget Responsibility, its framework for sustainable public finances. If elected Trass, the foreign secretary, has promised to take immediate “action on energy bills and energy supply”. Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, has warned that his Tory leadership rival will “add fuel to the fire” of inflation – which topped 10% in July – and could roil markets by borrowing tens of billions of pounds to unfunded tax cuts . But Kwarteng, now business secretary, said a Truss administration would be “bold” in promoting growth and denounced the “stale old economic managerialism that has left us with a stagnant economy”. He said a Truss government would cut taxes – reversing Sunak’s National Insurance and corporation tax rises would cost around £30bn – and provide short-term help to families and businesses facing soaring energy bills. “Given the severity of the crisis we face, there will need to be some fiscal easing to help people through the winter,” Kwarteng wrote. But he said Britain could afford to borrow more and that among the G7 countries only Germany had a lower debt-to-GDP ratio. He added: “Liz is committed to a lean situation and, as the immediate shock subsides, we will work to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio over time.” Kwarteng and Truss have prioritized cutting taxes – which they claim will boost growth – over questions about how the benefits are distributed between rich and poor. Truss said it was a mistake to view all economic policy through “the lens of redistribution.” Truss told the BBC’s Laura Kuensberg on Sunday that it was “fair” that the planned cut to national insurance would save a person working full-time on the minimum wage £59 a year, while a person earning £100,000 would save more than £1,000.

Truss said the rich were paying more taxes and argued that cutting taxes would increase growth and benefit everyone. Kwarteng wrote in the FT: “We are about growing the size of the UK economy, not burying our heads in a redistribution fight over what’s left.” David Gauke, a former Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer, said this approach carried “very big risks” at a time when low-income families, many of whom voted Conservative for the first time in 2019, faced a cost-of-living crisis. If elected on Monday, Truss will announce her new cabinet on Tuesday after meeting the Queen at her Balmoral estate in Scotland. James Cleverley, the foreign secretary, is expected by the Truss team to be promoted to foreign secretary, while Suella Braverman, the attorney-general, is expected to become home secretary. Jacob Rees-Mogg, another key Truss supporter, is expected by her team to be appointed business secretary, with responsibility for energy. The results of the seven-week contest to find a new Conservative leader will be announced at midday on Monday. Boris Johnson will make a farewell statement in Downing Street on Tuesday morning before flying to Balmoral to hand in his resignation. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Truss repeated her promise of tax cuts for businesses and households, but also said: “I will take decisive action to ensure that families and businesses can get through this winter and next.” . Rising inflation, the rising cost of public debt and the Trust’s promises of tax cuts and defense spending will put a £60bn hole in public finances by the middle of the decade, according to FT calculations. Truss said she wanted to move away from a “sticking plaster and kicking the can down the road” approach, and her allies talked about reforms to the energy market to lessen the impact of future crises.