‘Freezing fuel duty won’t make any difference’: Motorists brand extension of 5p cut as ‘irrelevant’ because prices at the pump are still too high due to rising cost of oil
By Eirian Jane Prosser[1] and Greg Heffer, Political Correspondent[2]
Published: 20:01, 6 March 2024 | Updated: 20:22, 6 March 2024
Motorists at a motorway service station today branded the government's fuel duty freeze 'irrelevant' - and called for an end to rising petrol prices.
Drivers in Hampshire said they don't think the extension of the 5p cut announced by the Chancellor will 'make much difference' to them.
Instead, their concerns lie in the 'pathetic' fuel prices they have to fork out every week.
In today's announcement, Jeremy Hunt[3] claims he has given motorists a boost by freezing fuel duty for a 14th year in a row and that it will save households GBP50 this year.
But drivers at Winchester Services say that GBP50 will just disappear thanks to what they spend on fuel anyway.
Company owner Andy Kelso (pictured) runs a commercial vehicle mechanic firm and has a fleet of five work vans
Ian Johnson (pictured) is a 50 year old lorry driver from Liverpool who has been on the job for 26 years and says he does 'countless miles'
Motorists at a motorway service station today branded the government's fuel duty freeze 'irrelevant' - and called for an end to rising petrol prices
Drivers in Hampshire said they don't think the extension of the 5p cut announced by the Chancellor will 'make much difference' to them
The BP garage at Winchester Services, off the busy M3 motorway, charges 169.9p per litre of unleaded and 179.9p for a litre of diesel.
Company owner Andy Kelso runs a commercial vehicle mechanic firm and has a fleet of five work vans.
Filling up his Volkswagen Caddy van at Winchester Services, the 50 year old said he wasn't impressed by the extension of the 5p cut.
'It's all a bit irrelevant if you ask me', Mr Kelso said.
Mr Kelso, owner of A Kelso Services, continued: 'The prices seem to just go one way, up. The world's market is still driving the prices up, so what good does that fuel duty really do?
'I've got five work vans for my company, we are well aware of how much it can sting you when you fuel up.
'We try to avoid using service stations and we try and make sure not all five vans are out at the same time.
'We pay about GBP200 a week for fuel.
'Honestly I don't think the 5p cut is going to make much difference.'
Ian Johnson is a 50 year old lorry driver from Liverpool who has been on the job for 26 years and says he does 'countless miles'.
Pensioner Chris Goff, 79, says he relies on his Hyundai Tucson as his wife Helen is a wheelchair-user
In today's announcement, Jeremy Hunt claims he has given motorists a boost by freezing fuel duty for a 14th year in a row and that it will save households GBP50 this year
Speaking from Winchester Services, the HGV driver said the Chancellor's latest announcement does nothing for him and is more concerned about petrol prices.
Mr Johnson said: 'I only do about two miles in my car then I get in this thing, which I don't have to pay fuel for. That's on the boss luckily.
'Because the fuel for this doesn't come out of my pocket, I'm not really bothered by the fuel duty, to be honest.
'Plus, how long has it been frozen for?
What does it really mean?
'But petrol in this country is pathetic I think.
'It only goes up.
'GBP600 it costs to fuel this thing up in one go - GBP600 if it's empty.
'And it's two or three times a week that I have to pull in somewhere and fill it up, GBP600 a pop.
'I think my boss gets it subsidised as well, so if you're telling me [the freeze on fuel duty] is going to save GBP50 a year, then I don't really know what to make of it.
'It's all a bit of nothing.'
Pensioner Chris Goff, 79, says he relies on his Hyundai Tucson as his wife Helen is a wheelchair-user.
Surrey-based Mr Goff said: 'I noticed this morning that in the last few weeks or so, quite a lot of the prices have gone up - that's often what happens before the budget.
Speaking from Winchester Services, Ian said the Chancellor's latest announcement does nothing for him and is more concerned about petrol prices
The Chancellor announced a freeze on fuel duty for the 14th consecutive year and extended the 'temporary' 5p cut in the rate for another 12 months
'It's nice that it will save a household GBP50 a year, but I'm not really sure what that means in practice.
'This is a special car we have for my wife, we got it on the [disabled charity] Motability Scheme.
'We do 10,000 miles a year, which is not vast by any stretch of the imagination, but the car is essential for us.
'It would have been nice if perhaps the government could have looked at helping out disabled motorists instead.'
Civil engineer Mark Wallace, 60, said: 'It just seems to be going up and up and up, petrol does.
'What good is this freeze going to do to me? It's been the same for ages.
'It costs me GBP80 to fill this Ford Focus up.
'I work down by Southampton and live near Heathrow, that's a 160 mile trip every day of the week.
'It's about an hour and a half, two hours one way. It's painful.
'I have to get fuel about three times a week.
'I don't really see the benefit of what they are doing.'
The Chancellor today announced he will freeze fuel duty for another year in a move welcomed by motoring groups - though campaigners urged retailers to pass on the cut to customers at the pumps.
In a bid to show he is on the side of drivers, Mr Hunt used his Budget to announce the GBP5billion package for motorists, which will see fuel duty frozen for the 14th consecutive year and the 'temporary' 5p cut extended another 12 month.
Mr Hunt said the GBP5billion package will save the average car driver GBP50 this year and total savings at around GBP250 since the 5p cut was first set in 2022.
The cut was initially introduced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak while he was still chancellor after oil prices rocketed following Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
It was only meant to last a year but this has been renewed. [4][5][6]
While motoring groups largely had a positive reaction to the freeze, campaigners are urging retailers to pass on the 5p cut to customers at the pumps. They also pointed out concerns over motor insurance rises and the state of Britain's roads.
In a bid to show he is on the side of ordinary motorists, Jeremy Hunt used his Budget to announce the GBP5billion package for drivers
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'With a general election looming, it would have been a huge surprise for the Chancellor to tamper with the political hot potato that is fuel duty in today's Budget.
'It appears the decision of if or when duty will be put back up again has been quietly passed to the next government.
'But, while it's good news that fuel duty has been kept low, it's unlikely drivers will be breathing a collective sigh of relief as we don't believe they've fully benefited from the cut that was introduced just two years ago due to retailers upping margins to cover their 'increased costs'.
'This has meant fuel prices have been higher than they would otherwise have been.
'What's more, despite today's positive news it's still the case that drivers are once again enduring rising prices at the pumps, sparked by the oil price going up - the average cost of a litre is already up by more than 4p since the start of the year.'
Nicholas Lyes, director at IAM RoadSmart told MailOnline: 'We welcome the Chancellor's commitment to keeping fuel duty down at a time when motorists' biggest concern is the cost of running their vehicle.
'However, road users continue to be worried about the appalling state of the UK's road network, with pothole peppered roads posing a real road safety risk.
'The Treasury could have used this Budget to provide urgently needed long-term funding to bring the road network back to a reasonable standard.
Government figures show the average cost of a litre of petrol and diesel at UK forecourts is around GBP1.45 and GBP1.55 respectively
'We're also disappointed there was no support within the Budget to help younger drivers with the spiralling costs of motor insurance.
'The Chancellor should have considered a cut to Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) for drivers under-25 who are facing sky-high premiums in excess of GBP2,000.'
Government figures show the average cost of a litre of petrol[7] and diesel at UK forecourts is around GBP1.45 and GBP1.55 respectively.
Treasury officials had pushed to scrap the duty freeze after a drop in pump prices but this idea was vetoed by Mr Hunt as politically untenable.
Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, Mr Hunt said: 'Lots of families and sole traders depend on their car. If I did nothing fuel duty would increase by 13 per cent this month.'
He added: 'I have as a result decided to maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty for a further 12 months.
'This will save the average car driver GBP50 next year and bring total savings since the 5p cut was introduced to around GBP250.
'Taken together with the alcohol duty freeze, this decision also reduces headline inflation by 0.2 percentage points in 2024-25 allowing us to make faster progress towards the Bank of England's 2 per cent target.'
The Chancellor's decision means fuel duty will remain at 52.95p per litre for petrol and diesel. Pictured: Hunt presenting the budget to the Commons today
The Chancellor's decision means fuel duty will remain at 52.95p per litre for petrol and diesel.
Before the March 2022 cut it had been frozen at 57.95p since March 2011.
Mr Hunt has joined a string of recent Tory chancellors in refusing to put fuel duty up in line with inflation. VAT is charged at 20 per cent on top of the total price.
Tory former minister Jonathan Gullis said he was 'delighted' the Chancellor 'has continued to listen and is backing Britain's drivers'.
'This will help to ensure fairer prices, while having the backs of the hard-working motorists and van drivers to ensure they get to keep more of their hard-earned money,' he added.
Others were less grateful for the Chancellor's fuel rise today, claiming that the Government is just delaying the inevitable.
Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, said: 'It would be crass not to be thankful to Jeremy Hunt and the six previous Tory Chancellors for keeping fuel duty frozen, for the 14th year in succession and at the dying embers of their Conservative administration.
'But when 9 out of 10 drivers call for a significant cut in this regressive levy and nearly 40 MPs want it lowered too, it shows that he is too scared and economically ignorant of the growth potential in cutting consumer taxes.
'The 20 per cent VAT rate was cut for six months to 15 per cent in 2020, so why not cut fuel duty by 20p till the general election, to see the positive impact on jobs, GDP, inflation, business investment, and growth taxes?
Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis said: 'The Chancellor decides fuel duty each time, the idea is its goes up if they don't do something, but they always do something'
'If it doesn't work, then the experiment has at least been tried. But deep down every Tory knows, it will work.'
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies added: 'Yet another fuel duty freeze.
Yet no doubt we will continue the fiction that the 'temporary' 5p cut will be reinstated and duty will rise with inflation from next year.
'Not doing so will cost another GBP6bn on top of GBP14bn annual cost of freezes since 2010.'
While Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis commented: ''If I did nothing fuel duty would increase by 13% this month' - this is a fiction.
He's just saying 'I'm keeping fuel duty where it is not raising it.
'The Chancellor decides fuel duty each time, the idea is its goes up if they don't do something, but they always do something.'
Others urged the Chancellor to put more funding towards public transport while others criticised him for failing to reduce VAT on public electrical vehicle (EV) charging to bring it into line with home charging.
Chris Todd Transport for Action Network told MailOnline: 'With rail fare rises and cuts to bus services it seems like public transport passengers are paying the price for extending the cut in fuel duty.
'This is hitting the least well off families hardest.
It's time for fuel duty cuts to be reversed and the money invested in public transport to achieve lasting benefits for everyone.'
Colin Walker, transport analyst at non-profit organisation the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, added: 'Electric motoring is cheaper motoring and the fuel duty freeze hasn't changed that.
'Bringing VAT on public charging in line with charging at home will encourage more drivers to make the switch to electric motoring.
'If the Government really wants to help the UK's drivers save money, the focus needs to be firmly on helping them make the move to EVs where more significant savings can be made.'
Ian Plummer, commercial director at online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader, said the fuel duty freeze 'sends more mixed messages to any motorists tempted to switch to electric vehicles'.
He went on: 'Equalising VAT across public and private EV charging points would encourage people to make the switch, and for a fraction of the GBP6 billion cost of freezing fuel duty, so today is a missed opportunity to support the green transition.'
References
- ^ Eirian Jane Prosser (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Greg Heffer, Political Correspondent (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Jeremy Hunt (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Rishi Sunak (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Putin (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ invasion of Ukraine (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ petrol (www.dailymail.co.uk)