Opinion-in-brief: Labour’s call for a windfall tax reminds of Blairite times
Emboldened by improved polling results and a government embroiled in scandals, Labour has proposed a £1.2bn windfall tax on offshore North Sea oil and gas companies – which it thinks could help shave £200 off average energy bills.
UK households are potentially facing a £700 hike bills when the consumer price cap is updated in April. It would be easy to dismiss the measure as left-wing populism and its natural environmentalist instincts.
Yet the policy is comparable to the Windfall Tax, which was proposed by New Labour ahead of its landslide election victory in 1997 and provided £5bn to fund welfare programmes and schools in its first term.
The move also contrasts with backbencher pressure from Tory MPs and peers to cut environmental levies to reduce household costs – providing a line of separation between both parties.