"To make this assertion more credible, maybe he should have written it on the side of a bus.”
As Nigel Farage continues to push the widely debunked claim that Reform could save £225 billion by abandoning net zero policies, the British public appears unconvinced.
According to a new poll by Uplift UK, which advocates for a fair and rapid transition away from oil and gas, most voters reject Farage’s framing of the energy crisis. Instead, 55 percent of those surveyed believe that corporate profiteering is the main cause of rising energy bills, while just 20 percent blame net zero policies.
The survey also found broad support for the windfall tax on oil and gas company profits, including among Conservative voters.
These findings come amid growing scrutiny of the fossil fuel industry. Recent reports show that oil giant Shell paid virtually no tax on its North Sea operations in 2024, and actually received £12.4 million back from the government. While Shell paid £8.6 million to the Treasury last year, the tax relief it received for decommissioning and past overpayments left it £7.1 million in profit after tax.
Tessa Khan, executive director of the pressure group Uplift, said: “It is outrageous that Shell is once again paying no tax in the UK, when the rest of us are paying for its profiteering in unaffordable energy bills and the impacts of climate change.”
In January, it was revealed that Shell cut its investment in renewables last year, instead prioritising £18.7 billion in payouts to shareholders.
“It’s not as if Shell is investing its profits in projects that will lower energy costs,” said Khan. “It has dialled back its investment in renewables and is ploughing on with oil and gas projects, which will just lock us into high energy prices for years longer than is necessary.”
Khan also described Farage’s “anti-net zero crusade” as “out of step with the British public.” Farage has claimed that scrapping net zero would help fund Reform UK’s policy pledges, including ending the two-child benefit cap and reinstating the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners.
“Most people don’t buy into Reform’s anti-Net Zero crusade — they know the real problem with high energy bills is our current dependence on oil and gas firms that put profit above all,” Khan said. “Politicians that are serious about tackling the UK’s high energy costs need to stand up to the oil and gas profiteers, not cave into their demands, and go faster in building more clean, homegrown energy. Reform’s attempts to disrupt this progress are a disservice to the nation and a slap in the face for the millions still struggling with unaffordable energy bills.”
Farage’s claims have also drawn ridicule. One former Treasury civil servant dismissed the £225 billion savings figure as entirely unrealistic, saying the UK government is spending “nothing on [the] scale” Farage suggests.
And in response to a piece in the iPaper on May 28, one reader mocked: “I read on your front page that Nigel Farage claims he could save £350bn over five years by scrapping net zero and slashing spending. To make this assertion more credible, maybe he should have written it on the side of a bus.”
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