Economic sense
Leaving aside the completely unanswerable moral argument that letting thousands of poor and elderly people starve or freeze to death is totally unacceptable, there is also an economic argument for bringing down fuel bills.
As Sir Keir Starmer points out a windfall tax that is then spent reducing bills will bring down inflation, which should mean the Bank of England can keep interest rates lower and so help the economy.
More importantly taking billions off the energy companies and giving it to people to spend, means that there will be more economic activity.
Every time you fill your car or pay an electricity bill the money disappears into energy companies’ coffers and then to their shareholders. It is like a huge tax rise in the middle of a downturn, a very bad idea.
The argument that profits are always good and this will discourage investment didn’t work for Mrs Thatcher, she taxed windfall profits too, and has no realistic basis in fact.
Energy companies invest on the assumption of a long term average prices for gas and oil, not on freak spikes.
They have done nothing to earn this, the Government needs the money, the poor will die unless this is done.
Not the most difficult moral problem. Just one beyond the scope of the Tory party.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.