Chancellor Sajid Javid says he came into politics to help the poor.
But he insisted the only way to end poverty was to support employers and create a strong economy - something he said Labour was unable to do.
Speaking to ChronicleLive, the Tory Chancellor said: "No one wants to see people using food banks or being in poverty. Of course nobody wants to see that.
"It’s one of the things that motivates you in Government, to come into Government in the first place, is to help people just like that.
"But one of the things we’ve [Conservatives] always understood, and I think most people do, is that to help as many people as you can, you need a strong economy. There’s no substitute for that."
He added: "The only way to cut poverty is to have sustainable jobs."
Recent opinion polls suggest that while the Conservatives are in the lead, the gap between the Tories and Labour is narrowing.
Asked why this is, Mr Javid provided the traditional politician’s reply - that the only poll that matters is the election itself, on December 12.
But he argued that Labour’s stream of promises, including providing free broadband for every home, cutting rail fares by a third and spending £58 billion to compensate women affected by the increase in the pension age, will backfire on them.
"When it comes to Labour, they are in a very desperate situation now where they are spraying spending promises around like confetti but they cannot be trusted and it’s all meaningless. Their numbers just don’t add up.
"When they published their manifesto they said they were going to cost everything and they didn’t. They said they were going to stick to rules and they didn’t.
"And just a couple of days after announcing the manifesto they suddenly announced another £58 billion in spending on pensions, which when pushed, they said they were going to borrow for it, and break every single rule that they’d just published in their manifesto."
As the general election campaign continues, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to publish a plan for his first 100 days as Prime Minister following the December 12 poll.
It includes:
- Delivering a post Brexit Budget in February which will cut taxes
- Changing the law to end the automatic release of serious violent and sexual offenders at the half way point
- Launching the biggest review of our defence, security and foreign policy since the end of the Cold War
- Legislating for a funding increase in schools
- Changing the law to increase the amount that migrants pay to use our NHS
- Beginning cross party talks to find a solution to social care funding
- Finalising an agreement with mobile phone operators to improve mobile service in the countryside
Mr Johnson said: "In just seven days time the British people will have to choose between a working majority government or yet another gridlocked hung Parliament.
"If there is a Conservative majority next week, we will get Brexit done by the end of January. 2020 will then be the year we finally put behind us the arguments and uncertainty over Brexit."
