Kemi Badenoch has sparked outrage after vowing to axe the windfall tax on oil and gas giants — without saying how she’d replace the £10.8 billion it’s expected to raise.
Critics have already labelled the move a “Liz Truss-style promise” as concerns mount over unfunded Tory pledges and the economic chaos they could unleash.
🏴 Badenoch goes big on oil – but forgets the budget
Speaking at the Scottish Conservatives’ conference in Edinburgh, the Tory leader claimed the windfall tax is now doing “more harm than good.”
“There is no longer a windfall to tax. It has long gone,” she said. “The longer this regressive tax on one of our most successful industries remains, the more damaging it becomes.”
She blamed Labour for “killing” the oil and gas industry by extending the tax until 2030 and vowed to scrap it entirely if the Tories return to power.
💥 Labour hits back: “It’s a Truss re-run”
Labour didn’t mince its words. A party spokesperson said:
“Another day, another unfunded spending commitment from the Conservatives.”
They warned that Badenoch’s plan to hand billions back to fossil fuel firms without funding it would lead to more borrowing, risking higher mortgages, rents and energy bills for working people.
“The Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s party are competing for how many Liz Truss-style promises they can make.”
The warning carries weight — Truss’s infamous mini-budget crashed the pound, spooked markets and sent mortgage rates soaring. Many fear Badenoch’s proposal is a rerun in the making.
📉 What’s the windfall tax again?
The windfall tax was introduced in 2022 under Rishi Sunak’s government. It was designed to claw back excess profits from oil and gas companies after prices surged due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Scrapping it now could save fossil fuel giants billions — but leave a gaping hole in the nation’s finances unless replaced with new taxes or spending cuts.
So far, Badenoch hasn’t explained where the money would come from. Sound familiar?
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