Politicians calling for an end to the Windfall Tax should listen to the public, say campaigners, after new polling from Survation that found voters back the Windfall Tax by a margin of more than two to one, with support crossing party lines and stretching across all areas of the country.

Over half of the population say that ending the Windfall Tax now would be the wrong thing to do. Only 22% felt that it should be ended. And 41% of the public support the Windfall Tax on energy firms, compared to just 17% opposing it. 

Nearly two-thirds of the public believe that the energy industry is profiteering from the conflict in Iran and 47% believe that windfall taxes should be extended to more companies within the energy industry.

Meanwhile, 83% of the public are worried about rising energy costs as a result of the conflict with Iran, and 44% say they would be unable to afford the expected £228 annual increase in energy bills. A quarter of these respondents claim they would be “completely unable to pay my energy bill” if costs rose to this level.

Oil giants have said that they would consider investing more in the North Sea, which is now an ultra-mature and high cost basin, if the government removes the additional levy. However, recent history suggests oil companies will instead just give the extra profits to their shareholders rather than investing in more drilling.

The oil and gas industry has been engaged in a significant lobbying effort to have the current windfall tax – the Energy Profits Levy – repealed or ended early, securing support from some high profile politicians and parties. Both Reform UK and the Conservative Party have repeatedly called for it to be scrapped.

But support for the Windfall Tax continues among voters from all parties, according to the data from Survation.

Among those intending to vote for Reform UK in the next general election, 39% support the Tax with just 24% opposing it. For those thinking of voting Conservative, 44% still support it and 19% oppose it. 

Among Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat voters, support is even stronger – as is support for extending the taxes to other sections of the industry.

Backing for the Windfall Tax was also strong in all areas of the country, with people in Wales polling the strongest support for the levy. Earlier detailed polling in Scotland had shown 41% backing the Tax with 19% opposing it, but the new data suggests that this support has deepened with 44% now in favour of the Levy.

Recent figures have shown that the energy industry made £125bn in profits on their UK operations in the last 5 years and in the month since the conflict in the Middle East began, the share prices of energy companies have soared adding over £233bn to the market capitalisation of firms and resulting in a boost in the wealth of energy firm bosses. 

Simon Francis, End Fuel Poverty Coalition coordinator said: “This is not the moment to hand a tax break to the oil and gas industry and Ministers must hold firm with the Windfall Tax, while also examining any profiteering from the conflict among other sectors of the energy sector.

“Trump’s attacks on Iran, the damage to Qatari gas production and the disruption to supplies has led to spikes in the costs of heating oil and gas.

“But while households will feel the effects of this for months to come, the energy industry will continue to benefit from increased prices and a fresh wave of excess profits.” 

Robert Palmer, deputy director of Uplift said: “Politicians calling for an end to the Windfall Tax just as the oil and gas giants are about to make billions in bumper profits are tone deaf. Instead of siding with the profiteering oil industry, political parties should be standing up for billpayers who are facing a steep Trump Tax on everything from their energy bills, to petrol and food.

“Last time, when Russia invaded Ukraine, oil companies didn’t invest their windfall profits in more drilling, instead executives and shareholders got windfall payouts. The government needs to tune out the barrage of special pleading by the oil firms and their political cheerleaders, and focus on real solutions to this crisis. 

“The only way to bring down energy costs over the long term is to get off our reliance on oil and gas, and invest as fast as we can in renewables. More North Sea drilling will not take a penny off our bills, only boost the profits of fossil fuel companies.”

Labour MP Nadia Whittome agreed: “Drilling in the North Sea won’t make energy cheaper, despite what Badenoch or Farage say, because the price of gas is set by international markets. Expanding our clean energy supplies, on the other hand, would reduce our dependence on expensive fossil fuels and therefore lower bills. A Labour government must hold firm on our climate commitments and double down on renewables.”

Big profits for energy executives from Iran war

Drilling down into the figures, it’s clear that the bosses of some of Britain’s biggest energy companies have seen their personal fortunes surge by millions of pounds as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

Analysis of shareholdings declared in annual reports and share price movements between 26th February and 27th March 2026 shows how energy chiefs may have benefited from the crisis, even as millions of households brace for a sharp rise in bills.

Among them, Harbour Energy’s Linda Z Cook saw the value of her shareholding rise by more than £4 million to £26 million. Harbour accounts for around 15% of the UK’s domestic oil and gas output and has been led by American Cook since 2021.

Meanwhile Shell’s Wael Sawan added nearly £1.8 million to take his stake to £13.2 million. At Centrica, Chris O’Shea saw the value of his shares rise by over £300,000, even as the British Gas owner’s boss told the BBC this month that higher household bills were “inescapable” and had previously said that it was “impossible to justify” his salary and rewards package.

At BP, interim boss Carol Howle saw her shares grow by over £500,000 during the period. Departed chief executive Murray Auchincloss, who held more than 1.8 million shares at the time of his departure, could have seen his stake rise to £10.6 million at current prices.

The picture is even more dramatic among the global giants whose share prices have been supercharged by the Middle East conflict. Chevron chief executive Michael Wirth saw the value of his near two-million-share stake rise by more than £44 million in a single month, taking his total holding to more than £312 million.

ExxonMobil’s Darren Woods added over £5 million to sit at more than £40 million, and TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanné’s stake now stands at £39 million. Equinor, the Norwegian state-backed firm that supplies much of the gas the UK depends on, saw its shares rise more than 45%, adding nearly £700,000 to the personal stake of chief executive Anders Opedal.

Simon Francis again: “There are very few winners from the conflict in the Middle East, and most of those are the wealthy oil and gas bosses who help set the prices we all pay for our energy. Politicians must show whose side they are on: the households struggling with energy bills, or the millionaires calling for an early end to the Windfall Tax on North Sea profits.”

The figures come as wholesale gas prices remain at levels not seen since 2023. Average household energy bills are forecast to rise to £1,929 from 1st July 2026, an 18% increase on the current cap.

Separate End Fuel Poverty Coalition data shows that energy firms have already made more than £125 billion in profits on their UK operations since 2020. At current energy prices, the Government stands to collect substantial additional tax revenue via the Energy Profits Levy.

Caitlin Boswell, interim Deputy Director at Tax Justice UK said: “Different parts of the economy are set to make eye-watering paydays as they spot opportunities for profiteering from the US-Israeli war on Iran and immense human suffering, while ordinary people see their energy bills sky-rocket.  That’s why the Chancellor should urgently implement excess profits taxes on energy, defence and banking sectors – called for by wider civil society – to send a clear message that the UK won’t accept profiteering from war and crisis.

“This needs to be coupled with tax system reform that ensures the massive asset price rises, like stocks in energy companies, are taxed fairly. Failing to do so will see stock price explosions channel enormous sums of money to the pockets of the super-rich, while millions in the UK are made more vulnerable to the cost of living crisis.”

The full data also shows that 12 of the world’s biggest energy companies added more than £233 billion in combined market value in a single month. In the EU, a report commissioned by Greenpeace Germany suggests that oil companies are making €81.4 million in extra profits every day from skyrocketing fuel prices since the start of the war on Iran, or around €2.5 billion in additional profits for March alone.

Jonathan Bean, Fuel Poverty Action spokesperson, said: “The Government must act urgently to stop more obscene energy profiteering from war, which will leave millions unable to afford the essential energy they need.  Windfall Tax loopholes must be removed and fair wealth taxes introduced.”

The ceasefire won’t bring down bills

Oil share prices fell with the announcement this week of a ceasefire in the conflict – because a ceasefire is bad for profits. But could the fragile ceasefire bring domestic energy bills back down? Simon Francis was pessimistic: “The damage to household energy bills has been done. All households will feel the pain from 1st July when the next Ofgem price cap period starts. For as long as our energy system is hooked on oil and gas prices, history will keep repeating itself and our bills will be at the mercy of decisions taken by Trump, Putin and Gulf States.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week that he was “fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”

But others suggested this was a cop-out. Labour peer Prem Sikka pointed out that energy costs were high even before invasions by Putin and Trump and that the “Ofgem pricing formula guarantees exorbitant corporate profits.” He added: “It can all be ended by nationalization.”

Sign the petition to demand higher taxes on companies profiteering from the crisis here.

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