Nicholas Soames, Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex, has welcomed Conservative Chancellor George Osborne’s decision this week to freeze Fuel Duty until the end of the year.
The Government inherited a series of Fuel Duty rises from the last Labour Government planned for last year and this year which it has scrapped or delayed. Following recent action in last year’s Budget and the Autumn Statement to cut Fuel Duty and scrap Labour’s Fuel Duty ‘escalator’, this week the Chancellor cancelled Labour’s 3p per litre rise planned for August this year.
Thanks to this Government’s repeated action, including this week’s delay, Fuel Duty is now 10p per litre lower than Labour planned and motorists will save £159 on filling up the average family car by the end of the year.
Nicholas Soames said; “Thanks to the Conservatives in Government, Fuel Duty has now been frozen for two years.
“This is good news for motorists, families and businesses coping with tight finances.
“By taking action on fuel pump prices, freezing council tax and cutting income tax for millions of people, the Conservatives are providing real help to people with the cost of living and a boost for Mid Sussex’s economy.”
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Notes
• Labour’s planned 3ppl Fuel Duty rise in August delayed until January 2013. On 26 June 2012, George Osborne announced the Government would reverse Labour’s planned Fuel Duty rise, due to come into effect on 1 August 2012. The 3.02 pence per litre rise will be postponed until January 2013 (HMT Press Release, 26 June 2012, link; BBC News Online, 26 June 2012, link).
• Fuel Duty will have been frozen for 21 months under this Government by the end of this year. Labour legislated for six rises to Fuel Duty for after the general election. The Government cut fuel duty by 1p in Budget 2011, and announced a series of changes to help families with the cost of fuel (HM Treasury, Budget 2011, p. 38; HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, November 2011).
• Abolition of Labour’s Fuel Duty Escalator. The 2011 Budget announced that the Government would abolish Labour’s Fuel Duty Escalator and replaced it with a Fair Fuel Stabiliser, which will limit any Fuel Duty rises when the international oil price rises above £45 a barrel (HM Treasury, Budget 2011).
• Families to save £159 by the end of this year compared to Labour’s plans. From April petrol duty has been a full 10 pence per litre lower than it would have been without our action in the Budget and last autumn. The further delay to Labour’s rise in Fuel Duty will mean that families will save £159 on filling up the average family car by the end of this year (HMT Press Release, 26 June 2012, link).
• Delaying Labour’s planned 3ppl Fuel Duty rise has been welcomed by business, motoring and rural groups.
o Federation of Small Businesses. Director General John Walker described the measure as ‘excellent news’ (John Walker, FSB, The Daily Telegraph, 26 June 2012, link).
o Institute of Directors. ‘The Chancellor has made the right decision, and the wheels of commerce will turn more smoothly as a result’ (Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, ibid.).