The difference between the Tory candidates’ tax plans? One is bad, the other is really bad | Larry Elliott

Neither has the first idea of what they're doing. Truss's proposal does little for those who need it, and Sunak's is a desperate U-turn

Rishi Sunak is losing the battle to be Britain's next prime minister and he knows it. The former chancellor's announcement that he would scrap VAT on energy bills for a year is exactly what it looks like: a U-turn born of desperation.

Having set himself up as the candidate of sober rectitude, Sunak has bowed to the inevitable as opinion polls show Liz Truss's plan for immediate tax cuts are proving more attractive to Conservative party members than his wait-and-see approach.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian's economics editor