Donald Trump has once again intervened in British politics during his stay in Scotland, taking to Truth Social to slam the government’s sky-high taxes on North Sea Oil. Posting on his social media platform, the US President accused Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband of throwing away a vast fortune as taxes prevent drilling for the precious resource under Britain’s feet.
He blasted: “North Sea Oil is a TREASURE CHEST for the United Kingdom. The taxes are so high, however, that it makes no sense. They have essentially told drillers and oil companies that, ‘we don’t want you’. Incentivize the drillers, FAST. A VAST FORTUNE TO BE MADE for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people!”
Ed Miliband, the climate change secretary, has insisted that recent tax raids on North Sea Oil have had no impact on Britons’ household energy bills.
Speaking on Sky News in April, the hapless Cabinet minister insisted it is “wrong” to suggest that Britain’s high tax rate is one of the reasons for Britain’s world-leading energy bill costs.
He argued: “The price of oil and gas is set on the international market.
“Whether the gas is coming from the North Sea or internationally, it is priced on the international market. That’s why we are in the grip of fossil fuel markets controlled by petroleum states. That was not about UK tax rates.”
However he was torn apart by leading economists who pointed out there is a clear link between the taxes imposed on domestic energy production and bills.
Dan Slater, director of research at Zeus Capital, hit back: “We’ve already seen how UK oil and gas tax rates of 78pc have reduced investment in and production from the UK North Sea.
“While it’s probably fair to say oil prices are set internationally, with limited impact from UK production, gas is a more local market and UK volumes from the North Sea can influence prices.
“UK gas prices rose following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine not because the UK was taking a great amount of UK gas, but because other European nations were cutting back on Russian supplies and demanding more North Sea gas, from Norway in particular as well as the UK.”
Ashley Kelty, of Panmure Librium, added: “For gas, the problem is that prices are all about actual supply and demand. And the problem is that [gas] supply in the UK is severely curtailed by the penal tax regime.
“Miliband’s comments are deliberate obfuscation. It’s true that oil producers do not set market prices, so the level of UK production taxes have no influence on consumer prices.
“But the high levels of tax and duty imposed by the UK Government does mean that petrol would still be about 60p per litre even if the oil price was zero.”
Reform UK has promised to introduce tax breaks and roll out new drilling licenses for North Sea Oil in order to bring down bills and improve energy security.
Richard Tice has promised a “day one” assault on Net Zero policies, including tax breaks and regulatory reform.