Kwarteng urges Shell and BP to invest in Brexit Britain after Sunak’s windfall tax threat – Express

The Brexit-backing Business Secretary told energy firm executives to invest more in UK projects to avoid being hit by a tax on earnings. Mr Kwarteng, who was first elected as the MP for Spelthorne in 2010, even suggested energy companies could look to pump money into the North Sea and offshore wind.

Mr Kwarteng's comments, which were reportedly made during an online meeting, came after the Chancellor of the Exchequer warned the Government had kept a windfall tax policy on the table.

Mr Sunak even signalled he would look again at a windfall tax amid cries for the Treasury to do more to tackle the cost of living crisis.

The UK Government had previously opposed the policy after it was put forward by the Labour Party.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Boris Johnson said in March: That is a classic example of what Labour got wrong during its period in office.

JUST IN:'Embarrassing!' Neil Parish to quit if found guilty after being named as porn-watching MP

The oil and gas companies are now investing 20billion in ensuring that we have long-term energy supplies.

The Prime Minister added: Everything that Labour is proposing would deter investment, meaning higher prices for consumers and households up and down the land being worse off.

Labours cost of living plan includes a windfall tax on energy companies which could bring in as much as 3billion, meaning the Oppositions measures would cost around 2billion more than the Governments proposal.

The Taxpayers' Alliance, a Westminster-based pressure group, also criticised Sir Keir Starmer's plan.

John OConnell, chief executive at the TPA, last month toldExpress.co.uk: Politicians should be wary of the siren song of windfall taxes.

Taxing energy profits will discourage investment and dissuade new players from entering the market, meaning even bigger price rises or fewer energy suppliers able to weather a future crisis.

Governments should focus on limiting these haphazard interventions and instead resolutely go for growth with a pro-enterprise, lower-tax agenda.

Despite Mr Sunak's Mumsnet suggestion that such a policy was never off the table, energy companies have insisted they have outlined plans to invest more in Brexit Britain.

A spokesperson for the oil trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said its members plan to invest 20billion in UK projects to extract oil and gas between now and 2026.

DON'T MISS:Neil Parish suspended in investigation into Tory MP who watched porn[REVEAL]Election POLL: Do you back Boris Johnson ahead of local elections?[REACTION]Ban scrolling and do your jobs properly, says Ashley Smith[INSIGHT]

The OEUK also claimed it estimates 60billion will be invested into offshore wind projects in Britain by the end of the decade.

Shell, an Anglo-Dutch company which gave Brexit Britain a boost after it announced it would relocate to the City of London from the Hague, said it would pump 25billion into the UK energy system over the next decade.

The company even claimed three-quarters of the investment would not be spent on the North Sea and would instead be pumped into offshore wind, hydrogen and electric vehicle infrastructure.

BP also outlined its own plan to spend twice as much on UK projects.

However, penny-pinching Brits have been hit by a cost of living crisis as inflation exceeds seven percent and energy bills increased by 693 following the price cap hike on April 1.

Read the rest here:

Kwarteng urges Shell and BP to invest in Brexit Britain after Sunak's windfall tax threat - Express