Companies are set to make £11.6 billion windfall on UK oil and gas in 2022. The UK government is missing this opportunity to fund an energy transition.
Greenpeace (accessed) 17th May 2022 read more »
Rishi Sunak has stepped up his warnings to Britain’s oil and gas industry that unless companies announce increased investment plans for the UK “soon” they face a potential windfall tax on their profits. The UK chancellor is under pressure from his political opponents — and some prominent members of his own Conservative party — to impose a one-off levy on energy groups, which have seen profits soar thanks to the higher price of gas. On Tuesday Labour used a debate on the recent Queen’s Speech to force a Commons vote on whether to impose a windfall tax — an opposition move designed to highlight the government’s reluctance to impose one. The vote was lost by 310 to 248. Although the motion was not supported by a single Tory MP, there is disquiet on the Conservative benches that the government has not convinced the public that it is doing enough to tackle the cost of living crisis. According to a new YouGov poll, some 72 per cent of Britons think the government is handling the economy badly.
FT 17th May 2022 read more »
A windfall tax on oil and gas companies is “wildly popular” with the public, internal government polling has discovered, as ministers warm to the idea. Voter research conducted in Whitehall has found that as many as eight in 10 people back the tax raid on energy companies with increased profits, The Telegraph can reveal. The polling and focus grouping is said to have found that voters consider oil and gas companies “corporate cowboys” given that they are profiting off soaring prices which are impacting the public. The results help to explain why Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, has kept the door open for a one-off windfall tax – a move that the Tory Party traditionally opposes.
Telegraph 17th May 2022 read more »