Liz Truss on Tuesday said she “fundamentally” disagreed with putting up taxes and then also giving out benefits to help with the UK's crisis in the cost of living.
At a hustings debate in Darlington, Conservatives leadership candidate Ms Truss criticised cash handouts as “Gordon Brown economics”.
Her opponent Rishi Sunak said he would seek to help pensioners and the most vulnerable with rising fuel bills.
Consultancy Cornwall Insight forecast that average bills could hit about £3,582 ($4,326) in October, up from £1,971 today, before topping £4,200 in the new year.
The two contenders vying to be the next prime minister have faced growing calls to detail how they would help with the energy price surge.
“We are facing great difficulties with energy," Ms Truss said.
"I understand people are struggling with their bills on fuel and food but the first thing we should do as Conservatives is help people have more of their own money.
“What I don’t support is taking money off people in tax and then giving it back to them in handouts. That to me is Gordon Brown economics.
“Frankly we had years of that under Labour and what we got was a slow-growth economy, and we didn’t get the opportunities, we didn’t get the enterprise, we didn’t get the new jobs in places like Darlington, which is one of the reasons people voted Conservative.
“What I fundamentally don’t agree with is putting up taxes and then also giving out benefits. I think that is the wrong approach."
UK Conservatives on the leadership campaign trail — in pictures
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Candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings at Wembley Arena, London. This was the final hustings attended by Tory Party members who will vote for the new leader and next prime minister. EPA -
Liz Truss addresses Conservative Party members at Wembley Arena. AP -
Mr Sunak puts forward his case to be leader while speaking at Wembley Arena. Bloomberg -
Mr Sunak visits his family's old business, Bassett Pharmacy in Southampton, while on the campaign trail. Reuters -
Ms Truss speaks to staff at Condimentum Ltd at the Food Enterprise Park in Norwich. Getty Images -
A Rishi Sunak supporter at a hustings event in Norfolk. PA -
Mr Sunak greets people at a leadership hustings in Manchester. Bloomberg -
Ms Truss poses for a selfie with a supporter as she arrives for the event in Manchester. Getty -
Rishi Sunak looks through the sights of an anti-tank missile launcher, supplied to Ukraine, during a visit to the Thales Defence System plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP -
Liz Truss at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event in Belfast. Getty -
Liz Truss meets supporters before a hustings in Perth, Scotland. Getty -
Rishi Sunak speaks during a campaign visit to Cluny Castle in Inverurie, Scotland. Getty -
Police hold back protesters outside Perth Concert Hall, Scotland, where Conservative leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were speaking. PA -
A mural showing the two leadership contestants appears on a wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP -
Rishi Sunak during a visit to St John's Wood Synagogue, north London. PA -
Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings in Cheltenham. EPA -
Rishi Sunak during a hustings event in Cheltenham. Reuters -
Liz Truss speaks to scientists during a campaign visit to a life sciences laboratory at Alderley Park in Manchester. PA -
Rishi Sunak during a campaign hustings in Darlington, England. Bloomberg -
Liz Truss meets party members before she speaks at the Darlington campaign hustings. Getty -
Rishi Sunak arrives for the Darlington hustings. Getty -
Liz Truss plays pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak looks at a book with Teddy Openshaw, 4, as his father, Henry, looks on after a Conservative leadership campaign event in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Getty -
Liz Truss plays table tennis with former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters -
Liz Truss with supporters at a campaign event in Solihull, England. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak attends a campaign event held by his party in Bexhill, England. Reuters -
A protester is removed as Ms Truss speaks during the Conservative Party leadership hustings in Eastbourne. Bloomberg -
Mr Sunak speaks at an event in Edinburgh. PA -
Ms Truss leaves the hall in Exeter, south-west England, after her speech to a Conservative Party membership hustings. Getty -
Mr Sunak speaks at the University of Exeter in south-west England. AP -
A supporter of Ms Truss at a Conservative Party hustings in Exeter, south-west England. Getty -
Ms Truss at a hustings event at the Pavilion conference centre at Elland Road in Leeds. PA -
Mr Sunak in Salisbury watching a screening of the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final between England and Germany at Wembley stadium. England won 2-1 in extra time. PA -
Ms Truss before the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final at Wembley stadium in London. AFP -
Mr Sunak meets Tory members at Fontwell Park Racecourse. Reuters -
Ms Truss at an event in Dereham, Norfolk. AFP -
Mr Sunak in Ropley, near Winchester, Hampshire. PA -
Ms Truss speaks as Conservative Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat looks on at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event at Biggin Hill Airport. Getty -
Ms Truss on the campaign trail in Woodford Green, on the outskirts of London. Reuters -
Mr Sunak at a Conservative Party hustings event in Leeds. AFP -
Ms Truss speaks at the hustings event in Leeds. AFP -
Sunak and Truss-themed souvenirs at a stand during the Leeds hustings event. Reuters -
Ms Truss, and her mother, Patricia, arrive for the hustings event. Getty -
Ms Truss poses with supporters in Morley, England. Getty -
Mr Sunak delivers a speech during a campaign event in Newmarket. AFP -
Ms Truss and Jake Berry, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, during a visit to a broadband interchange company in Leeds. PA -
Mr Sunak answers questions as he takes part in the hustings in Leeds. AFP -
Ms Truss speaks at an event at a private house with members of the Conservative Party in Woodford Green. PA -
Ms Truss and Mr Sunak pose for a picture before a BBC leadership debate at Victoria Hall in Hanley. Getty -
Ms Truss addresses Mr Sunak during the televised debate. Getty -
Mr Sunak, with daughters Krishna and Anushka, and wife Akshata Murthy, during a visit to Vaculug tyre specialists at Gonerby Hill Foot, Grantham. PA -
Ms Truss speaks to people while campaigning in Marden. Getty -
Ms Truss celebrates after being named, along with Mr Sunak, one of the final two candidates in the race to become the UK's next prime minister. PA -
Mr Sunak outside his campaign office in central London. EPA -
Ms Truss outside Downing Street in London. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak meets Conservative Party members and activists, in Teesport, Redcar. Reuters -
Conservative leadership candidates Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Kemi Badenoch, presenter Julie Etchingham, Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt during 'Britain's Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate' in London. EPA -
Ms Badenoch arrives at Here East studios in Stratford, east London, before a live television debate. PA -
Mr Sunak arrives at a London event to launch his campaign to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister. Reuters -
Mr Tugendhat appears on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA -
Ms Badenoch, Ms Mordaunt, Mr Sunak, Ms Truss and Mr Tugendhat before the live television debate. PA -
Ms Mordaunt arrives for the launch of her Conservative leadership campaign at the Cinnamon Club in Westminster. PA -
Ms Truss speaks at the launch event for her campaign to become the next leader of the Tory Party and Britain's prime minister, in London. EPA -
Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, one of the candidates who has been knocked out of the race, giving a speech at the Churchill War Rooms. PA -
Former leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA -
Sajid Javid attending the launch of his campaign to be Conservative Party leader and prime minister, at the Cinnamon Club in London. He has since been knocked out of the contest. PA -
Rehman Chishti is interviewed after announcing his bid to become the next prime minister. Mr Chishti is no longer in the race. Getty -
Mr Tugendhat speaking at the launch of his campaign. PA -
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith arrive for the Truss campaign launch event. Getty -
Former leadership candidate Attorney General Suella Braverman at the Churchill War Rooms in central London. PA -
Supporters of Mr Sunak wait for his arrival ahead of the campaign launch. Bloomberg -
Mr Tugendhat makes a speech at the launch of his campaign. PA -
Mr Javid mops his brow while launching his campaign. Getty -
Ms Truss leaves for work after her announcement that she would be running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Getty
Ms Truss, the Foreign Secretary, also attacked the media several times during the hustings debate, before apologising to the journalist who hosted the debate as it concluded.
She accused “some of the media” of trying to “talk our country down” during the event, and of framing questions in a “left-wing way”.
But at the end of the debate she was caught on a microphone apologising to TalkTV journalist Tom Newton Dunn, who chaired the event.
The broadcaster was asking the South West Norfolk MP about her plans to help people with rising energy bills using tax cuts, when he mentioned “your handouts” as he sought to pose a question.
Ms Truss interrupted, saying: “They are not giveaways Tom. This is people’s money, but this is the problem with the way that every question is framed.”
“You’re framing it in a left-wing way Tom. I’m afraid the whole media does this all the time … it drives me mad."
Everything you need to know about Liz Truss - video
Ms Truss was later asked if Boris Johnson’s downfall as prime minister was of his own making, or someone else’s.
Some audience members shouted out, saying it was the “media”.
“Sounds like you’re being blamed Tom and, you know, who am I to disagree with this excellent audience?” Ms Truss said.
She said she was a “loyal Cabinet minister”, but did not directly answer the question, saying “what is done is done and we are where we are”.
“I believe in Britain, unlike some of the media who choose to talk our country down,” Ms Truss said later when talking about spending commitments and her plans.
“For the record, that’s the third time you’ve attacked the media – a lot of which supports your campaign,” Newton Dunn said.
As she hugged the host of the hustings at the end of the event, Ms Truss could be heard to say: “I am sorry I was mean about the media, Tom.”
Newton Dunn could be heard to reply that the jibes about the media were “cheap”.
Everything you need to know about Rishi Sunak - video
Mr Sunak, meanwhile, suggested he would not offer further cash payments to every household and would instead aim support at the most vulnerable.
Referring to earlier support that he approved as chancellor, he said: “I want to go further than I did previously because the situation is worse.
"It’s right that we target that on the people who most need our help.
“The only way to help them is with direct support because tax cuts alone are not much good if you’re a pensioner who is not earning any extra money.
“They are not much good if you are working hard on the national living wage, because Liz’s tax cut is worth about a quid a week for that person, it’s worth zero for a pensioner. That’s not right.”
Asked if he was planning support similar to earlier plans of providing £400 to every household regardless of their income, the former chancellor said: “No, because I think what we need to do is target our support for the most vulnerable.”
Mr Sunak said he would be happy to get in a room with Ms Truss and Mr Johnson to talk about future cost-of-living support before the result of the leadership ballot.
Asked earlier in the hustings the same question about whether Mr Johnson’s downfall was his own fault or someone else’s, Mr Sunak replied: “His own.”
Mr Sunak’s resignation as chancellor in July was regarded as a significant move to encourage Mr Johnson to leave his office.
He said the cross-party group of MPs due to investigate whether Mr Johnson lied to Parliament over partygate “will make the right decision” and he would “fully support” them.
