Windfall tax: which cabinet ministers are for and against it?

theguardian.com:

The clearest signal yet that a windfall tax might be imposed on energy companies has come from a Treasury minister who said the UK government “cannot rule out” such a move.

Amid reports that No 10 is holding out against plans by Rishi Sunak to introduce a levy, Tory figures have been weighing in for and against it.

In highly unusual public displays of dissent, a number of cabinet ministers have spoken out against the policy, in some cases framing their hostility in stark ideological terms.

Sajid Javid The health secretary and former investment banker has made his opposition to the idea clear, saying his hostility is motivated by his core political beliefs. “Instinctively I don’t like it. I just think we’ve got to be really careful,” he told the Welsh Conservative conference.

Liz Truss The foreign secretary and torchbearer for the Conservative right admitted the UK was in a “very, very difficult economic situation” but said the Treasury should be cutting taxes rather than imposing a windfall levy on energy firms. “The problem with a windfall tax is it makes it difficult to attract future investment into our country, so there is a cost in imposing a tax like that,” she told Sky News.

Kwasi Kwarteng The business secretary firmly quashed the idea at the beginning of the month, days after it was mooted by the chancellor. Asked if he backed Sunak’s idea, he told Sky News: “I’ve never been a supporter of windfall taxes. I have been very clear on that publicly, I think it discourages investment and the reason why we want to have investment is because it creates jobs, it creates wealth and it also gives us energy security.”

Brandon Lewis The Northern Ireland secretary has said a windfall tax “sounds attractive but doesn’t work”. He