“TIME TO CUT FUEL DUTY”: Calls for cuts come as pump prices get set to jump before the Budget

Now’s the time to cut fuel duty says campaigner as pump prices get set to rocket by at least 5p per litre just weeks away from the next awaited Budget.
According to FairFuelUK’s Founder Howard Cox, garage owners have warned that pump prices will increase by 5p per litre in the coming week. The largest single increase in one hit for a decade.
Some fuel forecourts have already increased their prices by this amount and some have been accused of using the recent fuel crisis chaos to charge drivers even more.
The price hikes will be immediate, especially for those garages with empty tanks awaiting bulk delivery of fuel.
Howard Cox said: “With the oil price hitting $80 a barrel, weaker sterling and of course, Grant Schapps’s naïve “don’t panic buy” proclamation, the perfect opportunistic time to make hard pressed drivers pay more to fill up, is in place for the greedy unchecked fuel supply chain businesses. And it’s set to go even higher! With the Budget just a few weeks away, its time to cut fuel duty to put money back in drivers’ pockets. That National Insurance increase, energy prices hitting the sky, cuts in universal credit, higher inflation and furlough finished, it will be low-income families, small businesses and the haulage industry that will be crucified by a politically suicidal upsurge in fuel duty. It's now time to cut Fuel Duty!”
Howard Cox added: “Credible rumours are rife that the Treasury is to hike Fuel Duty as anti-driving deterrent in support of COP26 ambitions. In particular we are reliably informed, Whitehall special advisors are advising the Chancellor, that the public will be happy to accept a big fuel duty rise, up to 5p, in support of reducing driving and to benefit the environment. This is an utterly incorrect assumption and based on an ill-informed green political agenda and uncharacteristic of a long-established tax cutting Conservative philosophy. It is also a betrayal of voters who gave Boris an 80 seats majority. It’s sickening.”
Robert Halfon MP said: “The chaos at the pumps in recent days has resulted in huge hikes in petrol prices. Motorists are now being fleeced at the pumps at a time of great financial uncertainty. It’s the hardworking motorists and their families, like those in my own constituency of Harlow, that depend on their vehicles to earn a living, yet are being hit hardest. That’s why FairFuelUK’s Howard Cox and I have long been campaigning for PumpWatch – a watchdog to monitor the fairness of petrol and diesel prices and cut the cost of living for drivers. This needs to be introduced as soon as possible to stop this unfair practice immediately.”
Craig Mackinlay MP said: “It’s disappointing to see reports of pump price profiteering in some areas of the country. The recent spike in demand for petrol and diesel caused by the confected panic has led to unnecessary pressure at our fuelling stations. But I would urge retailers not to take advantage of the situation – drivers have long memories. Many people need the freedom and flexibility of the car to do their work in crucial sectors so all should act responsibly in filling up their cars, but we also need trustworthy pricing at the pumps.”