Chris

They are making billions. We are getting screwed. But it really isn’t BP’s fault, or Shell, or the rest. There’s a global market for oil and gas that ultimately dictates the prices of products derived from those raw materials. Nomad provided a useful link earlier.

It is actually illegal for a publicly listed company to act in a way detrimental to its shareholders interests, so they can’t adopt a policy of selling everything at cost, or voluntarily diverting dividends to the Treasury. Nevertheless, some of the most senior executives involved have stated publicly, as clearly as they dare, given their primary responsibility to their shareholders, that a windfall tax will not damage them or fundamentally alter their future plans in the way government ministers have suggested.

The problem here is that the Conservative party is hostile to windfall taxes on principle. Principles are not a bad thing per se, but it is getting harder and harder to understand their deontological zeal in the face of the mounting evidence of serious financial hardships in this country. A little pragmatism is required, and also a willingness to just accept they walked into the political trap set for them by every opposition party in the Commons by letting them all propose a windfall tax first. There is nowhere else they can readily acquire sufficient billions to take the edge off this winter’s fuel crisis, without racking up even more national debt. They should swallow their pride and get on with it.