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Zack Polanski was accused of a 'magic money tree' approach to economics today as he outlined plans for a £12billion tax raid on 'wealth', alongside capping rents and renationalising utilities.
The Green Party leader used a speech about 'rip-off Britain' to demand ministers 'tighten' wealth taxes on oil and gas profits and reform capital gains tax to provide an eye-watering £8.4billion to help cover household energy bills.
In his first major speech on the economy, the populist Green leader urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hit firms harder in order to offset price rises caused by 'Trump's war' on Iran.
Mr Polanski argued the move would help to claw back any 'excess profiteering' from the crisis in the Middle East, which has seen oil prices soar amid pressure on global supplies.
He admitted his plan, which would see the money used to keep the energy price cap at the April-June rate, was 'not cheap' but insisted 'there are ways to pay' by hammering firms.
'Instead of scrapping the windfall tax on energy companies, as this government is planning to do, we should be strengthening it instead,' he told an audience in London.
'We need a real, loophole-free windfall tax with no exemptions for reinvesting in fossil fuels. A robust tax that claws back every single pound of reckless profiteering from this crisis and repurposes it immediately to protect every home in the country.
'And while taxing extreme wealth in the ways we need to will take time to implement, there are levers the government could pull right now – like equalising Capital Gains Tax with income tax and reforming the base, to raise £12billion. '
He also backed rent controls and nationalisation as measures to further ease the cost of living, berating Margaret Thatcher for selling off water utilities in the 1980s.
In his first major speech on the economy, the populist Green leader urged Rachel Reeves to hit oil and gas firms harder to cover the cost of price rises caused by the US-Israeli war in Iran
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride accused Mr Polanski of 'breathtaking and dangerous' naivety over the plans
But Shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused Mr Polanski of 'breathtaking and dangerous' naivety over the plans, adding: 'Zack Polanski is a man who believes we can just keep shaking the magic money tree, with no consequences whatsoever.'
It came as a poll suggested some of Mr Polanski's policies, including the UK quitting Nato and the legalisation of all drugs, including Class A, are unpopular even with Green Party members.
Merlin Strategies found that quitting Nato has a net popularity of -45 and legalising narcotics -3.
And a separate poll by More in Common suggests Mr Polanski's past as a 'boob whisperer' hypnotist would also put off voters.
A third of the public said they would consider voting Green, but that figure fell to just 16 per cent when they learned he once claimed to help women increase their bust size through hypnosis.
Mr Polanski today offered a fresh apology over a 2013 newspaper article, which detailed his work as a hypnotherapist.
He has also repeatedly said he apologised 'a day later' for the article. But a newly unearthed radio interview last week showed he stood by his claims.
Six days after the article was published, he spoke to a local BBC radio station about a 'successful project' that was said to have grown a woman's breasts by 'four inches'.
Mr Polanski said the Chancellor should guarantee support and earmark £8.4billion to cover an expected household rise of hundreds of pounds in the coming year when Ofgem's current energy price cap expires, he is expected to say.
Analysts have predicted that the limit for July to September could surge to £1,827 a year from the current £1,641 for a typical dual fuel household.
Ministers have said the Government stands ready to support consumers, but is at an early stage of assessing what measures may or may not be needed.
Delivering the speech at the New Economics Foundation think tank this morning, Mr Polanski argues that the assurances from Sir Keir's administration have not been enough.
He also lamented the UK moving 'from a place which made things people need, to a place which made money for people who owned things' and demanded reform of the UK's fiscal framework to exit the 'bond market doom loop.'
Discussing rent controls, he said: 'If we had frozen rents in autumn 2022, households in Britain would be saving over £3,300 per year on average.
'Across Britain, that would put £18billion of purchasing power back in the pockets of ordinary people – money that could be spent in local businesses, buying a coffee on the way to work or a few pints at the end of a hard week.
'Instead it has gone straight into landlords’ pockets – leaving our high streets hollowed out.'
A Labour Party spokesman said: 'This Labour Government has the right economic plan for Britain – delivering stability in our public finances, investment in infrastructure and higher living standards after years of Conservative failure.
'We're ending austerity, supporting families, fixing our NHS, cutting child poverty, improving workers' rights, tackling the housing crisis and taking action on climate change and clean energy.
'The Greens have the wrong answers and no plan.'
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