Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins has called for a windfall tax on North oil and gas to stop energy bills rising over the next year – and hit out at the Conservatives for a decade of dither, delay and poor planning on Britain’s energy sector.

Labour would bring in fully-funded measures now to reduce the expected price rise in April – saving most households in Chesterfield and Staveley around £200 or more.

The party would also increase and expand the Warm Home’s Discount, targeting extra support to the squeezed middle, pensioners and the lowest earners, saving households up to £600 off bills in total, and preventing all of the increase in energy bills currently expected.

Labour would pay for this plan with a one-off windfall tax on North Sea Oil and Gas producers who have profited from price rises.

Toby stated “Families and businesses are facing an energy price crisis because a decade of failed Conservative energy policy has left us deeply vulnerable as a country. Labour wants to stop bills going up. That’s why Labour would give families security by taking fully-funded measures to save most households around £200 or more.

He added “We’d also target extra support on top of that for the squeezed middle, pensioners and lowest earners – saving households up to £600 off their bills in total. But we need more than short-term relief. Labour’s plan to keep energy bills lower in future would see us accelerate home-grown renewables and new nuclear, retrofit 19 million homes to save households an average of £400 a year on their bills, and reform our broken energy system.”