Motion #03
Conference instructs GPRC to request the removal of reduced energy prices from our ‘Fairer, Greener Bills’ campaign, replacing it with our agreed policy of increasing taxes on polluters, asset owners, landlords and high earners, and distributing the revenue to all UK residents via flat universal payments.
Recently, the Party announced a range of measures to help households through the current surge in energy prices.
This included long held Green Party policies, such as:
nationalisation of major energy companies, a national programme of home insulation, an increase in taxes on fossil fuel companies. However, it also included a proposal to subsidise all home energy costs, enabling energy companies to reduce prices to the level of the October 2021 price cap. This subsidy would cost £56bn (not the £37bn we suggested), and 75% of that payment (£42bn) would be for the consumption of energy from fossil fuel. This is in direct conflict with our agreed policy EN081 (“Transformation of the energy system at the right speed and scale will require funding from general taxation, in combination with private finance; all fossil fuel subsidies will be removed.”)
This approach would have the effect of reducing the speed of transition away from fossil fuels, and lead to higher CO2 emissions than otherwise would be the case.
It would also provide much less support to low income households, than to high income ones (we estimate the top 10% of households by income would receive 90% more in subsidies than the bottom 10%), thus breaching the general Green principle that tax and spending should be broadly progressive.
The alternative approach would be to adhere to current Green Party policy on tax and dividends/UBI: increasing taxes on asset owners, landlords and high earners, and using the revenues to pay a flat universal payment to all UK residents.
An example proposal would be:
To pay
£1,500 to every adult in the UK £1,000 to every child The payment would be treated as taxable income, but not counted when calculating benefit payments. The payment can be made through existing mechanisms such as the State Pension, Child Benefits, Universal Credit or Income Tax, which means no new bureaucracy is required and the payments could be made immediately.
This would ensure that the poorest 10% of households would receive about 80% more in support than the wealthiest 10%
Conference notes that: The proposal to cap prices at October 2021 levels is only costed for 6 months. There is currently no plan to support people beyond that initial 6 month period
The proposal disproportionately benefits those on higher income
It also reduces the cost of consuming fossil fuels, thus increasing emissions and reducing the speed at which households move away from fossil fuels and undertake energy efficiency measures
Conference instructs GPRC to: Request that GPEX and the co-leaders propose a plan to increase taxes on corporate profits, landlords and high earners and distribute the tax revenues as a flat universal payment to all UK adults and children.
Request that they also cease promoting the idea of reduced energy prices, which acts as a subsidy mainly to those consuming fossil fuels, and actively removes a major incentive to abandon fossil fuels, reduce energy use and improve energy efficiency