Campaign win! Rishi Sunak announces £5 billion windfall tax on energy giants’ profits

“I won’t have to pull back on some of the things that I believe are really important for the children.”

This is what it means. This is what it means to Peta who, like millions of others across the country, has been struggling as bills rise and the cost of the things we need to get by soars. 

This is what it means when we take action together. After months of campaigning and thousands of people working together to keep up the pressure, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak just made an unprecedented u-turn and announced a £5 billion windfall tax on the profits of energy giants. 

It’ll fund support for millions of people, like Peta, across the country who are struggling to keep up with rising energy bills in this cost of living crisis.

The windfall tax will finally give people who have been struggling for months some of the help they need. One @38degrees supporter shared what it means to her family with tonight’s ITV news. https://t.co/0OMbVVhtQH pic.twitter.com/3h0ThOjhCq

— Matthew McGregor (@mcgregormt) May 26, 2022

Rishi Sunak didn’t want to do this. He publicly ruled it out time after time. But, by taking action in our thousands, working in coalition with other campaigning organisations, and relentlessly keeping up the pressure, we’ve given the Government no other choice. Here’s how we did it:

• More than 92,000 people signed a petition for a windfall tax on the profits of energy giants.
• Countless 38 Degrees supporters shared their stories in the media, from ITV news to The Mirror, laying bare the reality of the cost of living crisis to millions of viewers and readers.
• Thousands of people chipped in to pay for ad vans to take our message direct to Rishi Sunak in his constituency, as well as targeted ads splashed across regional newspapers and on billboards.
• And we commissioned polling to show the Government the strength of support for urgent action on cost of living, and taxing energy giants’ profits, across the country.

It’s a testament to what we can do when thousands of us come together. So let’s keep the momentum up.

We know it’s not a silver bullet that’ll solve the cost of living scandal overnight. But by securing this win, we’ve shown that it is possible for people to hold the Government to account over this cost of living scandal. 

If they can tax the energy giants making billions while our bills soar, the Government can also ensure all wealthy corporations pay what they owe, invest in renewables and energy efficiency, and support everyone who’s struggling to get by.

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