Conservative leadership favourite Liz Truss defended the energy giants’ huge profits, insisting that they should not be seen as either “dirty or evil”.
It comes as the oil and gas industry chiefs urged Truss and her rival Rishi Sunak to scrap the windfall tax on profits as soon as possible – and not to extend it beyond 2025.
Truss – who is resisting opposition calls to expand the windfall tax – said: “I don’t think profit is a dirty word. And the fact it’s become a dirty word in our society is a massive problem.”
The foreign secretary told Tory members at a hustings in Cheltenham: “The energy giants, if they’re in an oligopoly should be held to account and I would make sure they’re rigorously held to account.
“But the way we bandy the word around ‘profit’ as if it’s something that’s dirty and evil – we shouldn’t be doing that as Conservatives,” she added. “We’re playing into the hands of people like Jeremy Corbyn, who want to completely undermine our way of life.”
BP reported its biggest quarterly profit in more than a decade of £6.9bn earlier this month, while Shell reported a record profit of £9bn.
Ms Truss told Tory members she “absolutely” did not like the idea of windfall taxes, claiming it was a “Labour idea” and “all about bashing business”.
Sunak used the event to accuse Truss of putting people “at risk of real destitution” after she again indicated that she will put tax cuts above support payments for families facing unaffordable energy bills.
The former chancellor has ramped up his promises to tackle the cost-of-living crisis in an article for The Times, saying he is prepared to find up to £10bn of extra support to ease the pain of soaring bills – aiming to cover extra costs for up to 16 million vulnerable people.
It said he valued his cut to VAT on energy at £5bn, and would find around £5bn again to go towards helping the most vulnerable through the benefits system.
Universal credit, winter fuel payments and similar schemes could be used to ease the burden. Mr Sunak refused to rule out “some limited and temporary one-off borrowing as a last resort to get us through this winter”.
Meanwhile, in open letters to both candidates, oil and gas representative body Offshore Energies UK claimed the sector would pay about £13.8bn into the Treasury next year as a result of the windfall tax and corporation taxes.
But the body raised concerns about the potential impact the law could have on investor confidence in the industry, urging both Truss and Sunak to scrap it “when possible” and not to extend it beyond the 2025 sunset clause.
The Liberal Democrats have called for the existing windfall tax to be expanded to around £20bn as part of a plan to free the energy price cap rise.
Labour wants the existing windfall tax backdated three months, saying it would mean an extra £1.9bn for direct support for people struggling with bills.
Keir Starmer’s party has launched the first part of its cost of living plan with a proposal to scrap “outrageous” rules which see customers on prepayment meters pay a higher price for energy.
Labour said its move would save up to four million of the poorest and most vulnerable Britons around £100 during the winter.
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds defended Starmer – in Edinburgh today – over criticism he has failed to offer a clear plan on soaring bills. He told LBC: “He is working like he does every day on the job. I honestly cannot fault the man’s work ethic.”
Mr Reynolds also said Labour was “getting the detail” of its plans ready to intervene on rising bills, adding it had only had success with calling for a windfall tax because its proposals were detailed and costed.
Earlier on Thursday, Boris Johnson appealed to electricity bosses to help ease the pressure as on hard-pressed families.
Representatives of major electricity companies arrived in Downing Street for crisis talks with the caretaker PM, chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
However, the meeting failed to produce any immediate concrete help for struggling consumers – with Mr Johnson acknowledging any “significant fiscal decisions” would be a matter for his successor.
It comes as analyst, Auxilione, said regulator Ofgem could be forced to raise the price cap for the average household to £5,000 from next April.
