Energy giants are raking in around £60 million a day following ministers’ failure to bring in a proper windfall tax, new figures show. According to figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility, £60 million of profit is reported in the North Sea each day, with BP today (Tuesday 2 May) announcing profits of more than £4 billion since the start of the year. Shell too is expected to announce bumper profits of around £7 billion in the first three months of 2023 later this week. The Government has been accused of giving these companies “handouts” by Metro Mayor Dan Norris as thousands in the West of England struggle through the cost-of-living crisis. The Mayor is calling on ministers to close loopholes in the Government’s so-called windfall tax and backdate extra taxes to January last year, raising £10.4 billion which could be used to freeze council tax for hard-working locals in the West of England, as the Labour Party are proposing. Metro Mayor Dan Norris said, “While West of England families struggle to pay for their gas and electricity and other yet rising bills, today’s figures show once again that ministers are letting oil and gas giants off the hook for billions and billions of unearned pounds. Enough is enough. Ministers should stop refusing to do the right and fair thing and bring in a proper Windfall Tax on oil and gas giants today, as Labour are proposing. This would help freeze council tax bills for residents and protect households through the coming months. That’s the choice Labour would make ahead of these local elections.”