Government roundtable with energy companies ends inconclusive

The meeting follows calls from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown for daily emergency COBRA meetings and a temporary renationalisation of energy firms in order to control sky-rocketing bills.

In the meeting, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed that: “Putin’s damaging war in Ukraine” has ushered in an unprecedented rise in prices, especially energy bills. He continued to state that: “We are doing everything we can to support them (Ukraine) and must continue to do so.”

Following the meeting, the Prime Minister announced: “We will keep urging the electricity sector to continue working on ways we can ease the cost-of-living pressures and to invest further and faster in British energy security.”

The Prime Minister also warned that high bills will only serve to damage energy firms in the long run, with the chancellor stating that their large profits are: “being monitored”, in a phrase that appears to not rule out further taxation.

This comes as Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss rules out further tax rises, arguing that it discourages investment.

Alternatively, her rival Rishi Sunak has taken the position that the country must be realistic about cost-of-living, even if measures introduced to help include tax rises.

The Prime Minister set out that the major decision of what do about this crisis must be made by his successor, wishing to follow protocol of outgoing PMs not making large fiscal decisions.

The treasury has assured the country that the chancellor Nadhim Zahawi will “work closely” with energy firms over the coming weeks to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported against the rise in bills.

Despite the chancellor declaring that energy companies had agreed to: “Do more to help the people who most need it” in the spirit of: “National unity”, no conclusive resolution was reached in the meeting.

Going on the offensive ahead of the meeting, The Labour Party’s Rachel Reeves accused the Tories of “handing oil and gas giants billions in tax breaks, just for them to pass it on to shareholders”.

Shadow business secretary Johnathon Reynolds said: “There appears to be a crisis in every aspect of national life under this government” as Labour commit to closing loopholes in windfall tax.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also attacked the government, writing in the Express that: “As millions suffer, Ministers have barely lifted a finger to help, and the two candidates for Prime Minister are living in a parallel universe.” 

This comes as the former coalition energy secretary, according to The Guardian, proposed a £36bn-a-year scheme in addition to an expanded windfall tax on oil and gas companies, potentially raising as much as £20bn.

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