Three quarters of the public hold the US President responsible, according to a new poll – with 63% branding it a “Trump tax” on household bills
Brits blame Donald Trump for the surge in energy bills set to hit UK households following his war in Iran.
Three quarters of the public hold the US President responsible, according to a new poll by Survation for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.
Some 65% also blame the energy industry directly.
The anger runs deep enough that 63% of respondents agree the increases amount to a ‘Trump Tax’ on their bills.
It comes as Trump has repeatedly pressured the UK to resume drilling in the North Sea, after Keir Starmer’s government halted new licences.
A majority (64%) believe the energy industry is profiteering from the Iran conflict.
And British voters across all parties back the Windfall Tax – or Energy Profits Levy – on energy firms, with almost half (47%) saying they want it extended to more companies in the industry.
“Millions of households are already cutting back on essentials, and the worst of the bill rises are still to come, said Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.
“Against the backdrop of the looming Trump Tax on energy bills, scrapping the Energy Profits Levy would be not just economically wrong but politically tone deaf. Voters back keeping it by more than two to one, and Ministers should be listening to that consensus rather than to the oil and gas lobbyists pushing for a tax break at precisely the moment support for households is needed the most.”
Robert Palmer, deputy director of Uplift – a group campaigning for a fair transition away from North Sea oil – added: “People know they’re being hit with a Trump Tax, plain and simple. We’re facing higher energy bills, rocketing fuel prices and more expensive mortgages.
“Our dependence on fossil fuels is making all of us poorer. All except for the oil and gas bosses and their shareholders who – once again – are set to cash in at our expense.
“Now Trump is demanding that the UK doubles down on drilling. But we can’t drill our way out of this crisis. More drilling won’t take a penny off our bills, and would have no meaningful impact on the UK’s supply of gas. We’ve burned most of what was in the North Sea already.
“The only way to insulate ourselves from these risks is to press on with renewables, like wind, and upgrade our homes with solar power and heat pumps, so we can free ourselves from oil and gas and ensure we have a liveable planet. And this polling shows the public gets this, even if Donald Trump doesn’t.
“The Government needs to help people who want to upgrade their homes and have more control of their energy bills, as well as billpayers who are going to struggle.”
