Claire Coutinho has unveiled Conservative proposals to slash household electricity costs by a fifth through the elimination of environmental levies and taxes.
Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Energy Secretary outlined what she termed a “cheap power plan” that would deliver savings without requiring any public funding.
“We’ve set out plans, a cheap power plan, which would cut everyone’s electricity bills by 20 per cent and it wouldn’t cost the taxpayer a penny,” she stated.
“We’d be taking off green taxes and levies and actually reducing the cost of people’s energy. And that should be the first port of call.”
The Shadow Energy Secretary took aim at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s handling of the economy, suggesting her difficulties stem from allowing inflation to spiral and accumulating substantial borrowing costs.
Ms Coutinho argued seeking additional taxpayer support should not be the Government’s first response, particularly when households are already under significant financial pressure.
“We know people have been taxed to the hilt, and people are very, very squeezed at the moment,” she said.
“So before you go to the taxpayer again, I think we should be looking at cutting all costs.”
Claire Coutinho has urged the Labour Government to ‘change course’ on their approach to North Sea extraction
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GB NEWS
She also highlighted Labour’s planned autumn fuel duty increase as another burden the Conservatives would remove.
Ms Coutinho directly challenged Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s assertion increased North Sea drilling would have no impact on prices, calling him “flat out wrong”.
She argued domestic oil and gas extraction could generate £25billion in tax revenues currently being raised from ordinary citizens instead.
“We know they’re taxing pensioners, students, ordinary people on incomes of £30,000,” she said.
The Chancellor will unveil crackdown on crisis profiteering as energy prices surge amid the Iran conflict | GETTY
“These are all people who are paying higher taxes under the Labour Party, and instead of getting the taxes from them, we could be getting it from a thriving North Sea.”
The Shadow Energy Secretary criticised the policy of importing gas from Norway, Qatar and the United States rather than utilising British resources, describing it as economically senseless.
She told GB News: “The borrowing costs that Rachel Reeves is having to pay because she is not earning enough and she is borrowing too much is shutting down our own industry.
“We import more gas from abroad with higher emissions, sending billions of pounds to places like Norway or Qatar or the US instead of using our own resources in the North Sea, which is completely mad.”
Claire Coutinho told GB News it is ‘sheer lunacy’ not to use our own resources in a crisis
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GB NEWS
Ms Coutinho announced the Tories are compelling a parliamentary vote to force Labour to abandon what she characterised as a punitive approach to North Sea energy production.
She criticised the Government’s taxation policies, ban on new exploration licences and delays to project approvals sitting on Mr Miliband’s desk awaiting sign-off.
“It is sheer lunacy in a gas crisis,” she declared, arguing some projects could be operational by Christmas if approved promptly.
The Shadow Energy Secretary insisted the current approach of shutting down domestic industry while importing gas with higher emissions was “completely mad” and demanded ministers change course immediately.