Our analysis reveals how the two candidates have fared in hundreds of Commons votes over the past decade. Explore their voting records for yourself below, or read on to find out where they stand on key issues.
The main themes of the campaign As the UK’s cost of living crisis intensifies, the candidates’ approach to the economy has been at the heart of the campaign. Ms Truss has promised tax cuts from day one if elected prime minister, while Mr Sunak has argued that now is not the time, instead pledging to cut taxes once inflation subsides. However, their tax record is not so clear, and polling data — collected and analyzed by Hansard and poll-tracking website PublicWhip — shows they have not always supported lower taxes. Lowering taxes on wages and income For example, increasing the personal allowance for income tax or reducing national insurance contributions Rishi Sunak moderate for PRO 6 6 AGAINST 2 2 LOSE 1 1 Liz Truss strongly for PRO 12 12 AGAINST 2 2 LOSE 5 5 21 September 2021. Opposition Day — Labor Finance — Government Policy A majority of MPs voted against an opposition motion calling on the government to reverse the rise in national insurance contributions and the freeze on personal income tax benefit. Sunak was absent from the vote. Truss was absent for the vote. Two recent tax increases stand out on both their records, though particularly given that Mr Sunak was chancellor at the time: the freeze on personal income tax allowance and the rise in national insurance contributions in 2021. Those tax increases – which remain in place to this day – have given Mr Sunak’s opponents plenty of ammunition, allowing them to question his commitment to conservative values. However, the figures also show that Ms Truss, who was the first of the two to become an MP, has backed additional tax increases that Mr Sunak has managed to avoid. For example, Mrs Truss took part in at least eleven votes in favor of increasing VAT early in her parliamentary career. VAT increase Increase of the VAT rate on goods and services Rishi Sunak ambiguous PRO 2 2 BY 3 3 LOSE 1 1 Liz Truss moderate for PRO 16 16 BY 3 3 LOSE 5 5 11 January 2022. Opposition Day — Value Added Tax on household energy bills A majority of MPs voted against an opposition motion calling on the government to reduce the VAT rate on household energy bills as soon as possible. Sunak voted with the majority. Truss was absent for the vote. In the summer of 2010, he supported the coalition government’s “emergency budget”, which increased VAT from 17.5 percent to 20 percent as part of measures to support public finances in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Then, along with her fellow Tory MPs, she consistently defended the increase by voting against Labor attempts to overturn it or offer exemptions, for example to charities. On the other hand, Mr Sunak’s recent tax measures have given him, on paper, a stronger record than Ms Truss in tackling energy prices – no doubt a priority for the next prime minister as winter approaches. Intervention to make energy more affordable Support measures to reduce energy bills Rishi Sunak strongly for PRO 3 3 AGAINST 0 0 LOSE 1 1 Liz Truss Moderate Vs PRO 2 2 AGAINST 8 8 LOSE 4 4 11 July 2022. Energy (Oil and Gas) Profits Levy Bill — Third Reading A majority of MPs have voted in favor of a windfall tax on energy company profits to fund household cost of living support. Sunak voted with the majority. Truss was absent for the vote. Mr Sunak’s record is also boosted by the introduction of the energy windfall tax earlier this year, which used the profits of oil and gas companies to fund support for household living costs. Instead, Ms Truss’ record is again haunted by her coalition years, when she voted against Labor proposals calling for measures such as freezing energy prices or cheaper tariffs for the over-75s. Apart from the economy, the poll has shown Tory members want the candidates to show they can control immigration and both have pledged to toughen border rules. Polling data reveals that Mr. Sunak and Ms. Truss have nearly identical records on the issue. Fighting illegal immigration Enacting stronger laws to tackle illegal immigration Rishi Sunak strongly for PRO 7 7 AGAINST 0 0 LOSE 2 2 Liz Truss strongly for PRO 8 8 AGAINST 0 0 LOSE 1 1 19 October 2020. Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (Withdrawal from the EU) Bill — New clause — Time limit on migrant detention for EEA and Swiss nationals A majority of MPs voted against introducing a time limit on migrant detention twenty-eight days for citizens of the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Sunak was absent from the vote. Truss was absent for the vote. Both have consistently supported measures to crack down on illegal immigration. from supporting laws that make it illegal for immigrants to work if they have not been granted permission to enter or remain, to voting against a ban on immigration detention of pregnant women. Likewise, both have atrocious asylum records, which is particularly important given the government’s recent failure to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda. Another issue on which the two candidates are being judged is their ability to deliver Brexit, with the main bone of contention being Mrs Truss’s support for Remain in the 2016 referendum, versus Mr Sunak’s support for Leave. This division is reflected in the data, with Mrs Truss voting for more EU integration several times before 2016. More EU integration before 2016 Strengthen European Union institutions and mechanisms and closer integration of Britain Rishi Sunak ambiguous PRO 3 3 AGAINST 2 2 LOSE 1 1 Liz Truss moderate for PRO 18 18 AGAINST 7 7 LOSE 7 7 15 June 2016. Joining the European Union A majority of MPs voted in favor of a motion stating that the UK should remain in the EU on the eve of the 2016 referendum. Sunak was absent from the vote. Truss was absent for the vote. However, in the wake of the referendum, the positions of both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss have shifted significantly, with both voting firmly against any measure that would keep the UK in the EU. Staying in the EU after 2016 Measures to keep the UK’s membership of the EU after the 2016 referendum Rishi Sunak strongly against PROS 1 1 AGAINST 1818 LOSE 6 6 Liz Truss is vehemently against PRO 2 2 AGAINST 1818 LOSE 5 5 20 July 2022. Northern Ireland Protocol Bill — Third reading A majority of MPs voted in favor of the bill, which gave ministers the power to scrap parts of the post-Brexit deal between the UK and the EU in relation to Northern Ireland. Sunak voted with the majority. Truss was absent for the vote. In addition to revealing what Ms. Truss and Mr. Sunak specifically voted for, the data also reveals the many controversial issues that neither has voted on. An example is the question of the legalization of assisted dying. In 2015, the Commons held its first vote on the issue in 20 years in the form of the Assisted Dying Bill introduced by Rob Marris, the former Labor MP. Legalizing Assisted Dying Making it legal to assist a terminally ill person who wishes to die Rishi Sunak never voted PRO 0 0 AGAINST 0 0 LOSE 1 1 Liz Truss never voted PRO 0 0 AGAINST 0 0 LOSE 1 1 11 September 2015. Assisted Dying Bill – Second Reading A majority of MPs have voted against allowing a terminally ill person to be legally assisted to end their life with the consent of the High Court. Sunak was absent from the vote. Truss was absent for the vote. MPs overwhelmingly rejected the bill, but neither Ms Truss nor Mr Sunak attended the vote, perhaps to keep their position ambiguous on such an emotive issue. Our voting data was gathered from the vote tracking website PublicWhip, as well as Hansard, the official record of Parliament. Each House of Commons vote we have collected has been assessed against what it says in support of a particular issue. Sometimes this means that a vote against a bill can represent a vote for an issue and vice versa. We then calculate the candidates’ summary position on an issue by weighting the number of votes for an issue against the number of votes against an issue. If nearly all candidates vote in favor of an issue, we label them as “strongly in favor” of an issue. Otherwise, they are either “moderately in favor” if they still have a significant number of upvotes, or “ambiguous” if they have essentially as many upvotes as downvotes. The same logic applies to labeling candidates “strongly against”. For issues with only a few relevant votes, we chose only to label candidates as “moderately” in favor or against.
