Households struggling with the cost of living could see tax cuts or more Government financial help from the new Prime Minister.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are currently battling to take over from current Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who resigned last month.
Johnson's regime brought in emergency help such as the £650 cost of living payment, £400 energy bills discount, £150 council tax rebate and more.
But since then the cost of living has continued to rise - with Brits warned household bills could rise by £6,000 this year.
The biggest single cost is soaring energy bills, which experts think could rise to £3,582 a year from October 2022 and £4,266 a year from January 2023.
Are you worried about affording your energy bills this winter? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
In response, campaigners including MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis have urged the Government to take urgent action on the cost of living before the new Prime Minister is announced on September 5.
Sunak and Truss have both announced rough plans to help Brits if they become Prime Minister.
In a nutshell, Sunak is talking about more financial handouts, while Truss is leaning towards cutting taxes instead.
But nothing is confirmed, and the two candidates' announcements change constantly.
Here is what the two PM hopefuls have said they would do to help ease the cost of living crisis.
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak said he will increase cost of living payments by "a few hundred pounds" if he becomes the next Prime Minister.
Yesterday Sunak said he is "confident" he could find the money to help struggling Brits with rising living costs if he wins the keys to No10 next month.
In a statement this week, Sunak said: “This winter is going to be extremely tough for families up and down the country, and there is no doubt in my mind that more support will be needed.
“In spring I set out a series of measures to provide help, with the most support targeted at the most vulnerable. But bills are going up by more than anyone expected and the next government will need to act.
“I’m very clear about what is required to help people, and as soon as we know how much bills will go up by, I will act."
In a previous interview, he said: "Yes I will look at doing more, and particularly for families, like pensioners for example, where I said that this winter they can get an extra payment worth up to £300.
"There are things like that we will have to look at depending on the situation, because tax proposals that we’re hearing from Liz Truss aren’t going to help people like that.
"And I want to make sure that the people who really need our help do get the support they need to get through the winter.”
Liz Truss
Truss yesterday refused five times to promise new cost of living payments despite a “terrifying” rise in energy bills this winter.
However, she may be edging closer to a cost-of-living U-turn after a key ally said she could consider “targeted help” for Brits.
Truss previously said she doesn’t want to give “handouts” and is instead focusing on cutting taxes.
Specifically she wants to cut green levies on energy bills, and slash National Insurance by £59 a year for minimum wage workers.
She did not rule out direct payments in a September emergency budget - but repeatedly suggested she did not favour them.
But critics in Sunak's campaign team said tax cuts would not help people like pensioners, who don't pay as many taxes.
Truss' tax cut plans have also been slammed as they could push up inflation - already at a 40-year high of 9.4%.
Asked how she would help families with spiralling bills this winter, the Tory leadership hopeful previously told the Financial Times: "Of course, I will look at what more can be done.
"But the way I would do things is in a Conservative way of lowering the tax burden, not giving out handouts."
Martin Lewis said Sunak “will effectively need, if he wants to make this work, to double the numbers especially for the poorest from £1,200 to £2,400.
“Because the increase has doubled the gap over where it was previously”.
And he said Liz Truss' plan to drop the green levy was a "sticking plaster on a gaping wound”.
