Reform UK call for windfall tax on renewable energy in anti-net zero push
Reform UK has said they would introduce a windfall tax on renewable energy as they announced they were “serving notice” on the industry.
The party has detailed a set of “policies to undo the effects of net zero”, in the wake of a series of polls and voting intention surveys that saw it beat Labour and the Conservatives.
It comes after Reform pledged in their election manifesto – titled Our Contract With You – to “scrap energy levies and net zero to slash energy bills and save each household £500 per year”.
They also vowed in the document ahead of the July 4 election to “unlock Britain’s vast oil and gas reserves to beat the cost of living crisis and unleash real economic growth”.
Speaking in Canada on Wednesday, deputy leader Richard Tice said: “We are serving notice on the renewables industry, on the investors, on the operations, and all the advisors and the lawyers, had better take notes.
“We are serving notice that not only do we plan to win the next general election but when we do things are going to change.”
He later said: “We will scrap net stupid zero and we will do whatever it takes to bring the bills down, to bring down the cost of living.
“President Trump is putting America First and our future Prime Minister Nigel Farage will put the United Kingdom first.”
Tice said Reform wanted to “recover the cost of subsidies from the renewables industry”, which he said was around £10bn a year, and that this would be done by introducing a windfall tax on all renewable generated power, including a “special corporation tax”.
The party also said it would introduce a solar farm tax, via scrapping inheritance tax, but charging a “special tax upon their death” to farmers who use land for solar panels.
“I have to say to those farmers who want to sell out to the renewable industry for solar farms, you can’t have it both ways, folks,” Tice said.
“If you sell out to the renewables industry, then you would not benefit from that inheritance tax relief. That’s only fair.”
Tice also outlined Reform plans to force the National Grid to put cables underground, adding: “We’re just saying do the job properly… if you go the cheap route and put the cables on pylons, we will legislate to force you to take down the pylons and put the cables under the ground.
“And you will not be allowed to pay any dividends to shareholders, until the cables are put underground.”
Party leader Nigel Farage added: “We view the net zero targets as being the prime reason for the de-industrialisation of Britain.
“Ironic, isn’t it, that the Trump tariffs on aluminium and steel won’t hurt us very much, because the entire aluminium industry is gone, but there’s very little steel gone. Why?
“Because our electricity prices for industry are between five and six times higher than those in America.”
And Tice added: “One of the reasons for that is that net zero is without question the greatest act of self-harm ever imposed on a nation by the people at Westminster.
“The truth is that decarbonisation does mean deindustrialisation. How we wish we had cheap energy like the United States… our price has soared and the US price has stayed pretty similar, because they use their own energy treasure under their feet.”
A report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) stated: “At a time of global energy uncertainty, net zero cannot just be an ambition: it is a strategic necessity.
“Delivering a low-carbon economy is essential for long-term, sustainable growth. Last year, our green economy grew nine per cent versus one per cent for the rest of the economy.”
Asked about this, Farage told Morning Wire: “Is that the same CBI that advocated joining the Euro? Yes, the same CBI who, last time I looked, only represented eight per cent of jobs in the private sector in this country.
“I’m not terribly interested in what the CBI has to say.”
Sam Hall, director of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN), said: “Energy bills are too high and must come down. But the problem is not net zero, it is our reliance on expensive gas imports and excessive government intervention in energy markets.
“To lower bills, we should let the market lead, back innovation, and remove barriers to private sector investment.”