Author and campaigner Jack Monroe appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to criticise the energy companies that have announced record profits while consumers are struggling to make ends meet. British Gas owner Centrica and Shell have raked in billions of pounds, with shareholders in line for whopping payouts.
Shell made profits of £9.5billion during the second quarter of the year, beating its previous high, which was set in the first quarter, by 26%. The profits were more than double the same period last year. The company has promised shareholders payouts worth £6.5billion.
Centrica reported operating profits of £1.3billion during the first half of the year. It has resumed paying dividends to shareholders for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Read more: Martin Lewis urges Government to act on soaring energy bills to prevent 'mental health damage'
Prices have continued to rise, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, and it is predicted that energy bills will rise even higher next year. Households have been warned to expect annual energy bills of £3,850 – three times what they were paying at the start of 2022.
“This is the doomsday scenario that you were predicting, you and Martin Lewis and others have been looking into this for a long time,” said the presenter to Jack Monroe. “When you see these record profits today, and Centrica saying ‘we’ve suspended our dividends to our shareholders and it’s the first year we’re doing it, we’re only giving them small amounts’, what do you think?”
She responded: “The people who are struggling to heat their homes at the moment, the people who are suffering from respiratory distress and disorders because they’re living in cold, damp homes, the people who are ticking time bombs for chronic illnesses 10 years down the line because they can’t afford to heat their homes and look after themselves properly because of the rising costs of energy bills, probably aren’t going to be very impressed with those £59million just being seen as a ‘small amount’ when actually the incremental cost of their energy bills is an absolute fraction of that but is unaffordable to them.”
There was an outpouring of support for Jack and her comments on Twitter. “Fantastic response, well done Jack,” wrote one viewer. “Brilliant and right on point as ever,” wrote another. One consumer wrote: “The fact that I am really struggling to pay my utilities and hearing about the millions in profit has made me sick to the stomach.”
But not everyone agreed that the energy firms should start sharing their wealth, despite their record highs. Andy Mayer from the Institute of Economic Affairs also appeared on the TV programme and said that the government needs to do something to tackle the immediate impact of the rise in energy bills, probably through the welfare system. He acknowledged that the consequences of the energy price rises were going to be “absolutely appalling” for people.
But he said it’s “wrong to blame energy companies” because they pay taxes like every other company, and oil and gas companies are currently paying “astronomical” amounts. He also pointed out that Shell is a global corporation operating in 70 countries so it wasn’t “clear-cut” why it should only be thinking about welfare in the UK. “We want these companies to be investing in the energy future that will get bills down long-term,” he said.
However, there wasn’t any support on Twitter for his point of view. One viewer commented: “Andy Mayer seems like a bit of an idiot.”
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