Environmental and transport campaigners have urged Rachel Reeves to bring the cost of motoring more in line with other forms of transport, after more than a decade of fuel duty freezes at the pumps and heavy increases in rail fares. The current situation makes it cheaper to drive or fly than to take the train, which shouldn’t be the case. They suggest that the chancellor needs to act now to restore balance in transport costs.
According to a Whitehall source quoted by the Mail, officials have told Reeves it's now or never on fuel duty. They are advising her that motorists can afford it and that if she doesn't act to end the freeze now she will find it much harder to do so later in the parliament, highlighting the urgency of the fuel duty discussions.
Campaigners believe that the chancellor should go further, particularly given forecasts by the government's spending watchdog. They predict that reinstating the fuel duty cut along with an inflationary increase could raise an additional 4.2 billion in duty, a necessary step considering the increasing spending gaps.
The average price of a litre of petrol is now about 135p, which is a relative low compared to the 146p price at the start of 2022. Fuel duty levied at 52.95p per litre generates about £25 billion yearly for the exchequer, making it a significant source of revenue.
Collection
[
|
...
]