- As families brace for a £700 hike in energy bills, oil and
gas producers make £750 in profits every
second
Labour today ramps up calls for the Conservatives to bring in a
one-off windfall tax on oil and gas producers to cut people’s
bills as the energy crisis escalates – revealing producers made
£750 every second in excess profits last year.
The Chancellor’s “Buy Now, Pay Later” scheme will load costs onto
families bills for years to come.
This is while oil and gas producers made bumper profits last
year, with BP’s takings the highest in 8 years, and Shells
profits described by its own CEO as “momentous”.
BP’s CFO commented yesterday that “it's possible that we're
getting more cash than we know what to do with” during the
producer’s earnings call.
Ofgem last week announced that a typical household will expect to
spend almost £700 more this year on energy bills – coming on top
of tax hikes, rising costs and spiralling inflation.
Labour’s energy plan – paid for by a one-off windfall tax on oil
and gas producers – would save most households £200 off their
bills, with £600 in total off the bills of the lowest
earners, pensioners and the squeezed middle. That would
almost completely cancel out the April energy price rise
announced by Ofgem last week.
Speaking in PMQs, Labour leader , said:
“Households are going to have to fork out an extra £19bn on their
energy bills.
“The Government is insulting people’s intelligence by pretending
they are giving them a discount.
“But it’s not - it’s a con, a Buy Now, Pay Later scheme, a dodgy
loan not a proper plan.
“The loan-shark Chancellor and his unwitting sidekick have now
cooked up a Buy Now, Pay Later scheme.
“It leaves taxpayers in debt, while oil and gas companies are
laughing all the way to the bank.
“It’s the same old story with this Government - get in a mess,
protect their mates, and ask working people to pick up the bill.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
