Sir Keir Starmer has joked that Jacob Rees-Mogg is "like an overgrown prefect". The Labour leader used a question at today's edition of Prime Minister's Questions to argue for a windfall tax on oil and gas giants in order to reduce household energy bills, and sought to belittle Rees-Mogg as one of the few voices arguing against the idea.
Starmer said: "Let's have a look at who's for [a windfall tax] and who's against it. One side, the chair of Tesco, the chair of John Lewis, the chair of the Treasury select committee, the chair of the education select committee, Lord Hague, Lord Brown, [and] the old CEO of BP all support a windfall tax. Even the current boss of BP says it wouldn't discourage investment.
"And on the other side? The member for North East Somerset [Rees-Mogg]. When he's not sticking notes on people's desks like some overgrown prefect, he's dead-set against it."
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Starmer was referring to Rees-Mogg's drive to get civil servants back in the office, rather than allowing them to continue working from home. The Conservative MP and minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency has been visiting civil service departments and, when encountering empty desks, leaving notes that say, "I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon."
Starmer's joke caused the Labour benches to erupt with laughter and even cracked a smile from a few Conservatives. Elsewhere in the session, Sir Keir pressed the government to introduce a windfall tax and highlighted how different ministers had given different answers on the subject, which he said amounted to the government performing the "hokey-cokey".
Boris Johnson, the prime minister, did not confirm or deny whether his government would introduce such a tax, despite last night ordering his party to vote down Labour's proposal for one. He said he would "look at all measures, in future, to support people, of course".
He had previously ruled out the idea, saying it would "deter investment". However, Bernard Looney, BP’s chief executive, when asked which investments his company would not carry out if the government introduced a windfall tax, replied: "There are none that we wouldn’t do."
On the subject of working from home, the government vowed in its 2019 election manifesto to encourage more flexible working. However, the employment bill, which may have included such wording, was quietly dropped from this year's legislative agenda.
Dominic Cummings, the PM's former senior advisor, has claimed the u-turn was due to Johnson caving to pressure from newspaper owners, apparently because fewer commuters meant newspaper sales were down.
