26 May 2022

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement of a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies to help people pay rising costs [1], Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack said:

“While we welcome the fact that the government has finally seen sense over taxing the ‘dirty profits’ made by oil and gas companies to help people pay their soaring energy bills, this announcement has come far too late and ultimately fails to get to the root of the problem.

“The government has delayed and dithered far too long over this, with a devastating impact on households up and down the country. They seem totally out of touch with the millions of people forced to choose between feeding their children or paying their bills. 

“The money raised from this windfall tax should be wholly targeted towards those on the lowest incomes, who are currently facing a much higher rate of inflation because they are forced to spend so much of their income on energy costs.

“This is why we have repeatedly called not just for the restoration of the Universal Credit £20 increase but doubling it to £40 – on a permanent basis – and making sure those on legacy benefits see the same increase. We need to see a serious and permanent intervention to address the shocking and rising rates of poverty that disfigure our society.

“Now the government has finally seen sense over rising taxes to help the poorest, it must go on to look at the positive impacts even larger tax reforms could have. Well-implemented wealth, land value and carbon taxes would provide genuine support for people and planet, to ensure we tackle the energy crisis and move towards a sustainable future.

“What this Conservative government still does not understand is that the cheapest bill is the one you don’t have to pay. Rishi Sunak seems to have completely missed the memo about the energy crisis and the need for energy efficiency. He should be using the money raised from fossil fuel companies to fund the evolution towards a low-energy and renewable-energy future. 

“The massive profits made by the fossil companies could be used to insulate our leaky homes and to invest in renewables so that we are resilient in the face of future energy shocks.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61583651

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25 May 2022

Responding to publication of the damning Sue Gray report, which highlights “failures of leadership and judgement in No 10 and the Cabinet Office” [1], Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:

“This report has to be the final curtain for Boris Johnson’s squalid attempt to play the role of Prime Minister. 

“Never before have we seen such a complete disregard for what it means to hold this office, with a litany of rule-breaking, lies and cover-ups leaving the public with no trust in this government, at a time when it is needed the most.

“We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis which is getting worse and is having serious consequences for households and families up and down the country. Yet at a time when the government  should be doing everything it can to help, it is in complete disarray with Boris Johnson doing everything he can to avoid taking responsibility.

“This has to stop now. We don’t need any more reports or investigations to tell us all what we already know. Boris Johnson must take full responsibility for the rule-breaking he took part in and presided over. He must resign now.”

ENDS 

Notes

1

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/findings-of-the-second-permanent-secretarys-investigation-into-alleged-gatherings-on-government-premises-during-covid-restrictions?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=e7f100f8-1e9b-4ee0-bde9-83cded1cf523&utm_content=immediately

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24 May 2022

The Green Party has said the renewable energy sector should not be liable for a windfall tax and that fossil fuel companies must not be able to avoid such a tax by ‘hiding behind the façade of clean energy investments.’ Greens have made the demands following suggestions the government is planning to introduce a windfall tax across the entire energy sector, including renewables [1]. Meanwhile there are also suggestions that fossil fuel companies will be able to avoid a windfall tax providing they provide updates each quarter on how they’re boosting clean energy investments [2]. 

Responding, co-leader of the Green party, Carla Denyer, said:

“Oil and gas corporations have been making eye-watering profits, not renewable energy companies, and neither Shell nor BP paid any tax at all last year [3]. It is the fossil fuel giants that should face a dirty profits tax, based on the billions raked in from fossil fuels over the last year, irrespective of their investment plans.

“We cannot allow the fossil fuel industry to hide behind the façade of clean energy investments – often tiny in comparison to the investment they make into new fossil fuel extraction [4]. We know their game – their primary interest is in increasing the exploitation of oil and gas reserves. Just yesterday, a senior safety consultant quit working with Shell citing greenwash and accusing the company of failing to wind down on fossil fuels [5]. If a windfall tax stops them shovelling money into boosting fossil fuels, that should be welcomed; it is certainly not a reason to stall on introducing such a tax.

“Oil companies have benefited from billions of pounds of tax breaks, tax relief and subsidies. A dirty profits tax will go some way to make up for the taxpayer handouts the industry has enjoyed for too long. 

“As Greens we see a windfall tax as a steppingstone towards introducing a carbon tax on all polluting industries – a move that will help drive the market away from fossil fuels towards renewables and help pay for a massive nationwide home insulation programme.

“Different tax arrangements for different forms of energy sends a clear message to investors, consumers and energy companies themselves that the future we want and need is based on clean renewable energy not dirty fossil fuels.”   

Notes

[1] 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61566083 

[2] 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-23/to-avoid-windfall-tax-uk-minister-wants-quarterly-green-plans 

[3] 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/30/shell-and-bp-paid-zero-tax-on-north-sea-gas-and-oil-for-three-years

[4]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/11/more-cash-than-we-know-what-to-do-with-oil-and-gas-companies-report-bumper-profits

[5] 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/23/shell-consultant-quits-environment-caroline-dennett

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23 May 2022

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has said the Prime Minister must finally do the right thing and resign after ITV News published pictures of him drinking at a party during lockdown [1].

Denyer said:

“It is now more clear than ever that Boris Johnson attended parties at Downing Street during lockdown, when everybody else was having to make heartbreaking sacrifices.

“Not only did the Prime Minister think it was ok to break the rules he made, he then also went on to lie about it and try to cover up his own illegal acts.

“This country can no longer be run by somebody who is a serial liar and thinks the rules don’t apply to him.

“It is time that he finally takes responsibility, does the only reasonable thing and resigns. If he refuses to, then I urge the Conservative MPs covering up for him to take matters into their own hands and force him out of the office he has completely demeaned.” 

Notes

1. https://www.itv.com/news/2022-05-23/exclusive-pm-pictured-drinking-at-downing-street-party-during-lockdown 

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23 May 2022

The Green Party has repeated its call for the pay ratio between chief executives and their workers to be limited to a ratio of 10:1. The demand comes as new evidence reveals pay ratios in the first months of 2022 averaged 63:1, almost doubling the ratio in 2021 [1].

Commenting, Green Party deputy leader, Amelia Womack, said:

“Such huge disparities between bosses and their staff are unacceptable at any time, but when many of these workers are struggling to put food on the table and pay sky-high energy bills this sort of imbalance is a complete failure by government to protect households. We need laws to prevent these gross injustices. 

“There can be no justification for astronomical pay for a tiny elite while the majority of people are struggling to get by. That’s why the Green Party is repeating a call for a 10:1 pay ratio, mandated by law, to ensure that the highest paid individuals in an organisation receive no more than ten times the amount of the lowest paid.

“Such a policy would be likely to tackle the crisis of low wages: the lowest paid in organisations are the very people most impacted by the cost of living crisis. It would also help create a more equal society, which research has consistently demonstrated is good for health and wellbeing [2]”.

Notes

[1] Pay gap between bosses and staff expected to widen – BBC News

[2] Impacts of inequality- The Equality Trust

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