Here’s where UK’s Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak stand on issues from taxes to China

POLICY AREA
LIZ TRUSS
RISHI SUNAK

Economy/Taxes

Proposes more than £30 billion ($36 billion) of tax cuts to put “money back in people’s pockets”
Would reverse National Insurance rise brought in this year Sunak
Temporary moratorium on green levy to cut average energy bills £153
Would scrap next year’s planned rise in corporation tax to 25% from 19%
Delay paying down Covid debt
Reform tax system to make it fairer, including review on treating households as single tax entities
Advocates more intervention monetary policy; would look again at Bank of England remit
Says recession predicted BOE can be avoided

Calls Truss’s plans “immoral” forpiling debt onto future generations
Top priority is to control inflation
Supports lower taxes in the long term
Plans temporary VAT cut on domestic energy bills if price cap on them rises above £3,000. In government he opposed such a cut
As chancellor, announced 1 penny cut in income tax 2024; Now says he’ll cut another 3 pence 2030
Stick to plan to increase corporation tax in 2023
Reform taxation to reward companies that invest and avoid penalizing small and medium-sized businesses
Has expressed concern about Truss’s BOE proposals

Brexit/ Northern Ireland

Voted Remain but has since embraced leave and is supported prominent Tory Brexiteers
Architect of Northern Ireland Protocol Bill which would scrap bulk of provisions on the region in the Brexit deal struck the UK with the EU
Pledges to scrap all EU regulation end of 2023, including Solvency II and MiFID II rules in a “”bonfire” of red tape

Voted Leave in 2016 Brexit referendum
Supports Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
Wants businesses to see the benefits and freedoms that Brexit creates
Plans new Brexit delivery department to review 2,400 EU laws on the British statute book with view to scrapping or reforming them the next election

Immigration

Supports government plan to deter small boat crossings from France deporting arrivals to Rwanda
Would extend policy to more countries
Step up law enforcement efforts to pursue criminal gangs responsible for people-trafficking
Increase front-line border force 20% and double maritime staffing
Tackle labour shortages in farming through short-term expansion of seasonal workers program

Has 10-point immigration plan that would narrow the definition of individuals who qualify for asylum
Supports Rwanda deportation plan, saying he’ll do “whatever it takes” to get it running
Plans “small boats task force” to tackle cross-Channel people smuggling from France
Wants “more effective” relationship with France
Would cap asylum seekers
Reform Home Office, border force

Defense/Ukraine

Spend at least 3% of GDP on defense 2030
Maintain UK leadership in supporting Ukraine including through sanctions on Russia and providing heavy weapons to Ukraine
Keep dialog open with Russian President Vladimir Putin but only to “call him out”

Takes “threat-based approach” to defense spending, pledging to invest “whatever it takes to keep our country safe,” while steering clear of “arbitrary numbers”
Continue to support Ukraine with weapons, funding, sanctions
Won’t engage with Putin

Housing/Planning

Tailor policy regionally to make housing more affordable; build vertically in cities and allow villages to expand incrementally
Joined-up approach for industry and infrastructure so new housing built where new jobs are based
Consent local communities is essential to planning
Incorporate rental payments into mortgage assessments to allow up to 50% of renters to get on property ladder
Scrap “top-down” housing targets, rip up red tape to boost housebuilding
Low-tax, low-regulation, low-planning “Investment Zones” including creation of new towns

Guarantee protection for green belt surrounding towns and cities
Doesn’t support “arbitrary” building targets
Characterizes his planning policy as “brownfield, brownfield, brownfield”
Change planning rules to allow denser housing in inner cities
Promote modular flat-pack housing
Tackle “land banking” developers to ensure more land is available for construction
Slash number of empty shops on high streets allowing commercial buildings to be repurposed

China

Reduce UK dependence on China
Ban reliance on China for critical national infrastructure projects
Strengthen Commonwealth as counterweight to China through trade and investment
Says UK should crack down on Chinese-owned TikTok

Says China is “No. 1 threat” to UK security
Close all 30 Confucius Institutes in UK; review China-UK research partnerships
Pursue “NATO-style” alliance to defend against Chinese “technological aggression”
Counter Chinese industrial espionage
Consider banning Chinese acquisitions of key UK assets

Energy/Climate Change

Supports net zero goals, but not at expense of people and businesses
Sees strong case for lifting fracking ban

Supports net zero targets
UK energy sovereignty 2045; focus on offshore wind
Won’t end onshore wind moratorium
Create dedicated energy minry

Other

Rules out second Scottish independence referendum
Scrap failing schools, allow creation of new grammar schools
Cut National Health Service backlogs and delays eliminating bureaucracy
Set police target to cut serious crimes and neighborhood crime 20% end of this Parliament
Recruit 20,000 more police officers
Would make it harder for trade unions to agree on strikes
Backs single-sex spaces; would cut civil service diversity officers
Committed to Johnson’s core policy of leveling up economic opportunity, but had recent gaffe announcing — and then reversing — policy to set public sector pay regionally according to living costs

Rules out second Scottish independence referendum
Backs new grammar schools
Plans task force to tackle NHS backlogs
Build more than 100 special surgical hubs to bring down waiting times
Impose £10 penalty for missing doctor appointments
Expand police powers to tackle anti-social behavior like graffiti, littering
Would prevent biological men from competing in women’s sports; vows to legislate so a person’s sex means their biological sex
Committed to leveling up policy