LABOUR will extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies to pay for a £29bn emergency cost of living package, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
The leader of the opposition said the money raised through the levy could be used to cancel the rise in the energy price cap, keeping it at £1,971 for the average household.
Sir Keir said scrapping the increases could also help cut inflation by 4 per cent, meaning it would peak at about 9% rather than the 13% predicted by the Bank of England,
This, Labour said, would make future interest rate rises less likely.
He also said that if the cap was to be frozen, then it could also be party funded by doing away with Rishi Sunak's £400 rebate on energy bills for all households.
Last Friday, energy consultant Auxilione’s predicted the price cap on energy bills could reach £3,628 in October, up from £1,971 today. They said it could then rise again to £4,538 in January and peak at £5,277 in April.
The Labour leader - who has been criticised over a lack of response to the cost of living crisis - said the plan was a direct response to a “national economic emergency” which had left millions of families across the country fearful as to how they would cope.
As well as freezing the energy price he said a Labour government would insulate 19 million of the coldest homes over the next decade, further reducing bills.
He also announced a number of measures to increase the UK’s energy security, doubling onshore and offshore wind capacity, investing in solar, tidal and hydrogen, and bringing forward new nuclear capacity.
Sir Keir said: “Britain’s cost-of-living crisis is getting worse, leaving people scared about how they’ll get through the winter.
“We’ve had 12 years of Tory government that has failed to prepare and refused to invest, leaving bills higher and our country less secure.
“This is a national emergency. It needs strong leadership and urgent action.
“Labour’s fully-funded plan would fix the problems immediately and for the future – helping people get through the winter while providing the foundations for a stronger, more secure economy.”
The plan will likely be opposed by the oil and gas sector. In order to pay for the measures, Labour said it would close a “loophole” in the levy on the profits of the energy companies announced by Mr Sunak in May when he was chancellor.
They also said the changes would be backdated to the start of January.
This, Labour claimed, would bring in £8bn.
Last week, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown put forward a number of suggestions for tackling the cost of living crisis.
In a column for the Guardian, he was seen as taking a subtle swipe at his holidaying successor.
“Time and tide wait for no one. Neither do crises," he wrote.
“They don’t take holidays, and don’t politely hang fire – certainly not to suit the convenience of a departing PM and the whims of two potential successors and the Conservative party membership.”
Sir Keir later said that it was “nonsense” to claim his party has not been leading on the cost-of-living crisis.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel