Tories must ‘stamp out the long tail of Blairism’

Proposed windfall tax on energy firms is the legacy of ex-pm’s feeble approach, says Attorney General

THE Tories need to “stamp out the long tail of Blairism”, the Attorney General said yesterday, as she warned against a windfall tax.

Suella Braverman said Sir Tony Blair’s creations such as the Human Rights Act and equalities agenda had created an industry of people living off rights-based claims that undermined British values and decency.

Speaking to Conservativehome, she sided with Boris Johnson against the Treasury in warning that a windfall tax on oil and gas giants would be a disincentive to investment. “Profits are not an enemy of Conservatives,” she said.

Her comments came as the Prime Minister yesterday pledged to unveil a pandemic-style rescue package “in the months ahead” to help struggling families through the cost of living crisis.

He said the Government will “put our arms around the British people again as we did during Covid” in his clearest signal yet that more financial support is imminent.

His remarks put him at odds once again with Rishi Sunak. The Chancellor has insisted he will not sign off on further spending until the Autumn Budget.

This week, No10 was forced to deny that it had blocked the Treasury’s plans to bring forward a windfall tax on the large profits being earned by energy companies.

Mr Sunak is now said to be in favour of the one-off levy, which would raise £2billion and is supported by eight in 10 voters, Whitehall research suggests.

But Ms Braverman said: “I don’t think a windfall tax would be a great idea, if I’m honest. I think we want to incentivise investment. Profits are not an enemy of Conservatives. Profits mean more investment. Profits mean more research. Profits mean more jobs.”

Ms Braverman warned that the Labour Party under Sir Keir Starmer, which is pushing for a windfall tax, was “very dangerous” because he was a child of Blairism.

She said: “The long tail of Blairism, the creations like the Human Rights Act and the equalities agenda, which has built up a whole industry of people who make their living from rights-based claims, didn’t exist prior to Blair.

“For the legacy of Blairism, we will get quite a feeble approach to common sense, decency, British values.

“And the reasons why I’m a Conservative, my background is one that is ferociously proud of Britain, Britain’s history, Britain’s welcome. My parents were born under the British Empire. They came to this country with a huge fondness for the British Empire.

“What Britain brought to their countries, Mauritius and Kenya and India where we have our origins, was remarkable.

“And I get very saddened by this apology and shame, promulgated by the Left and commenced by the collective guilt that started under Tony Blair, that is pervading our society.”

Speaking at the Welsh Conservative conference, Mr Johnson insisted ministers “know how tough it is” for millions of households that are struggling to make ends meet.

He vowed to use “fiscal firepower” to ease the burden on ordinary families but warned he could not “magic away every single expense that people are going to face”.

He added: “We will get this country through the big challenges now of the post-covid aftershocks, the pressures caused in particular by the rise in the cost of living.

“Everybody can see what’s happening: the cost at fuel pumps, the price of food, the cost of energy. We all know how tough it is and how tough it can be.

“Of course, we’re going to get through this and the markets will eventually adjust and new supply will come on and prices will come down again.

“And in the months ahead, we are going to have to do what we did before, we’re going to use our fiscal firepower that we have to help.”

His remarks come as Mr Sunak faces mounting pressure from Cabinet colleagues and Tory backbenchers to unveil a “summer rescue package”.

Thérèse Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, suggested that more help was on the way, saying ministers were “conscious of the challenges that people are facing in their daily lives”.

Asked if it was “inevitable” that the Chancellor would have to give in to calls for an emergency budget, she told ITV: “I don’t want to rule anything out.”