On Tuesday, the former chancellor said he would aim to cut costs by expanding the workforce and reducing the number of people on benefits.
He said he would double the number of hours a person on welfare must work a week to avoid having to look for full-time work from nine to 18, and explore other measures to get people off the social assistance and work.
But on Tuesday night Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary and a supporter of Ms Truss, accused Mr Sunak of another U-turn, saying he had blocked his plans to help people on benefits get better jobs by increasing the number of hours they spend. they have to work
“Helping people progress in work by getting better jobs and more hours is a key role of jobcentres,” he said. “The Department for Work and Pensions will soon change the rules to ensure people continue to look for extra work until they have at least 12 hours a week with the ambition to increase this in the future.
“DWP had hoped to launch this earlier this year but unfortunately it was blocked by the former chancellor.”
Sunak said he would work with the UK’s biggest importers to increase trade with Dutch and Danish ports, ending the disruption that causes shortages that lead to price increases.
During Tuesday night’s debate, Ms Truss said it was “morally wrong” to raise taxes during a cost-of-living crisis in an attack on Mr Sunak’s policies, but the former chancellor hit back by saying it was “morally wrong” to accumulate more debt in the future. generations
A member of Ms Truss’s inner circle said it was “as expected” that the second showdown had taken a more moderate tone, adding that there had been efforts to take the sting out of the campaign.
“There’s a fundamental disagreement between them on taxes, but they’re generally on the same page on everything else,” he said of the two leadership candidates.
An insider from Mr Sunak’s camp said he was more relaxed this time about letting the foreign secretary “talk at length” about his tax cut plans, which he says are unfunded.