BP - swimming in oil profits
OIL GIANT BP sparked widespread anger when it announced a record profit of £6.4 billion for the third quarter of 2008. Its profits, which averaged about £70 million a day, were a whopping 148% above the corresponding period in 2007.
BP was making huge money and paying out massive dividends (60% up in Britain) on the basis of huge prices for crude oil in the summer period. The prices have since tumbled due to the recession.
Tony Woodley, joint leader of the union Unite, called for a windfall tax on the oil giants, pointing out that this would help six million people heat their homes this winter.
Such a windfall tax should be supported but an even better way to use the wealth of these firms for the public good would be for the oil giants to be taken into public ownership and run under the democratic control of working-class people.
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In The Socialist 29 October 2008:
Credit crunch
Worlds apart... in 'them and us' society
Are we heading for a new Great Depression?
Recession getting deeper - 'real world' suffering
Socialism 2008
Time to change the world - come and hear the case for socialism
Socialist Party campaigns
Postal workers march for their jobs
Socialist Party workplace news
National civil service strike 10 November
JCB - Why should we accept redundancies and pay cuts?
Unite calls off London bus strike
International socialist news and analysis
Israel/Palestine Moving towards a new conflict?
Ireland: Pensioners' revolt - government forced back
Italy: Mass movement to stop education cuts
Car industry
Car industry in crisis: A fighting strategy
Socialist Students
Defeat NUS' undemocratic plans
Newcastle University chancellor is out of touch
Fighting cuts at Northampton Uni
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