Nigel Evans has today backed former prime minister Sir John Major’s call for an emergency tax on the profits of the UK's top energy firms.
Speaking to the press at Westminster, the former leader of the conservative Party said that recent price rises of more than 10% were "unacceptable" and that action was needed. The government could claw back the cost of extra winter fuel payments through a one-off tax, he suggested.
Mr Evans said:
“I think that Sir John Major’s suggestion is an eminently sensible one. It would provide consumers with much needed relief when the proceeds of the tax were put back into the system and at the same time send a message to the energy companies that their profiteering is wholly unreasonable.
“Nobody should have to choose between heating their homes or feeding themselves. It is outrageous that this is happening in Britain in 2013.
“Many people in the Ribble Valley have received pay increases of 1% or less in the last year so for them to be hit with a 10% hike in fuel bills is totally unacceptable.
“I have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer echoing Sir John Major’s call and I hope that it is an idea that George Osborne will seriously consider for the benefit of many people across the UK.”