THE cost of living crisis, building on the Green Belt and HS2 all came under the spotlight when Rishi Sunak visited Cheshire today.

The man hoping to take over from Boris Johnson met Conservative Party members at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Chester and later sat down for an exclusive interview with the local democracy reporting service.

During the interview the former Chancellor, who is vying with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for the role of Tory leader, said his ‘number one challenge’ was to help people in Cheshire deal with the cost of living.

He said: “There'll be lots of people in Cheshire who are anxious about bills this autumn and what I'll say to them is that as you saw from me as Chancellor during the pandemic, you can trust me to make sure that we support people through some difficult times. That's what we'll do this autumn and winter.

“Given energy bills are going to be higher than we had originally anticipated, I'll make sure that the more support is in place.

"For example, I want to cut VAT on energy bills this autumn and winter - that will help and if we need to go further, then of course I will.”

The HS2 rail scheme continues to be a source of controversy in Cheshire. It was recently revealed that Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s Sean Hawkins nature reserve is set to be compulsory purchased by HS2 Ltd despite objections.

Asked whether he would make changes to the project if he takes the top job he remained tight-lipped, but said: “I want to make sure that the project is delivered efficiently, because these big projects have a habit of taking too long and going over budget and I want to make sure that doesn't happen.

“And so I'll be quite tight on the costs to make sure that we control that on everyone's behalf."

During his leadership campaign he has also talked about protecting Green Belt land – a buffer zone which guards against urban sprawl. He said that people in Cheshire should be 'reassured' that if elected, he would protect the Green Belt.

He said: “I want to make sure that our countryside is kept beautiful.

"It's a very special part of our nation's DNA and I've set out a set of proposals which will ensure that local communities are the ones making the decisions about the development of their area, and things will not be forced on them arbitrarily from on high.”