Mr Kwarteng told the sector that investing in home-grown energy production is essential to grow the British economy and 'crucially bring down consumer bills in the long term'. He has written to the industry demanding a 'very clear plan' to spend profits on accelerating domestic production and clean energy before a meeting in the coming weeks.
Mr Kwarteng was instead trying to pressure North Sea oil and gas firms to reinvest their profits so more drastic action is not required. That is for the Chancellor of the Exchequer,' he said. 'I don't think that is the right way, but I would say that is not for me. I think they discourage investment.'Īnd he said on the BBC's Sunday Morning show that 'it doesn't make much sense to me to then hit them (energy firms) with a windfall tax which is arbitrary and unexpected'. But he told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday: 'I've never been a supporter of windfall taxes - I've been very clear about that publicly.
Mr Kwarteng did not rule out the move being considered by the Government as a measure to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis. Labour is pressing for the move, and last week Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he could 'look again' at a new levy as a way to help bring prices down.īut Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said a new tax would be a 'disincentive' to investment. It came amid the appearance of a Cabinet rift over whether to target oil and gas firms for a windfall tax on profits made while prices are high and consumers suffer. He replied: 'They are going to go higher and they are going to stay high for quite some time, I fear.' Talking to the BBC today, Lord Rose was asked if 5.9 per cent was the ceiling of price rises. Other products rising most rapidly include frozen potato-based products, canned colas, fresh poultry and milk. Prices are rising fastest in products such as dog and cat food, fresh lamb and beef, savoury snacks and crisps but they are falling in spirits - as surging prices cause the biggest squeeze on UK household incomes since the 1950s. This week it was revealed the price of groceries in Britain is now increasing at its fastest rate in 11 years, adding an extra £271 to the amount average households will pay at the till this year.ĭata from market researcher Kantar showed that overall grocery price inflation hit 5.9 per cent this month in what is the fastest rise since December 2011 as the number of items on promotion at supermarkets decreased. Sunflower oil, wheat and oil prices have been affected by the war in Ukraine, while gas prices were already going skywards before the conflict began in February. Tory peer Lord Rose said that rocketing raw material costs were going to hit a new permanent high level, which would have a knock-on effect in the aisles. Families face food prices that rise even higher than they are now and stay high for some time, the boss of Asda warned today.