A welcome response from the Chancellor but......
Reacting to news in the
Chancellor's Autumn Statement that the January 3p rise in fuel duty is to be
postponed, Quentin Willson, spokesman for FairFuelUK said,
‘This is a victory for FairFuelUK but only a stay of execution. We've saved the
UK 9p since March in proposed fuel duty rises and we are now the gatekeepers of
fuel sanity for this country. We're going to carry on pressurising this
government to keep duty down and reduce it significantly. If we don't they'll
hike it up again the first chance they get''.
Peter Carroll
who runs FairFuelUK said, ‘Adding another 3p a litre at this critical
time for the economy would have been economic madness. It's a little like a
sick man being told that he was going to get worse, but then being told he's
not! Like the sick man, the economy is still in a bad way. Petrol & diesel
remain far too expensive. We will be fighting on to try and make the Government
understand that the economy needs an actual cut in fuel duty – a cut would
create jobs, give people a little more disposable income and stimulate the
economy. This will mean that the Government and the Chancellor will gain, not
lose, by cutting duty'.
Theo De
Pencier, Chief Executive of the Freight Transport Association (FTA)
said, ‘We have avoided a horrendous New Year's hangover; January's rise
would have cost the industry around £325m. But while we are relieved that the
Chancellor has steered us out of immediate danger, it is obvious that getting
the UK back on the road to recovery requires a long term fuel duty strategy, and
one which doesn't make already tough times that much tougher for businesses in
an already uncertain economy. Today's decision will help to keep the wheels of
industry turning. But the government must now look at taking more substantive
steps to invoke a longer term fuel duty policy that doesn't punish business,
prevent growth and grind those wheels to a halt.'
Geoff Dunning,
Chief Executive of the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said, ‘We welcome
this news. This will go some way to alleviating the impact of escalating fuel
prices for all users. However, this can only be regarded as a short term fix.
If the UK is to have any chance of economic recovery it is imperative that a
long term solution to this problem be found as a matter of extreme
urgency'.
Adrian Tink of
the RAC said, ‘It's a victory for common sense. With people paying in
excess of £1300 per year just to go about their daily lives this needs to the
first, not the last, step. This is welcome short term relief, but what is the
Chancellor's plan if prices keep going up next year'
The FairFuelUK campaign
is backed by the RAC, the RHA and FTA. It achieved a major Parliamentary debate
on 15th Nov to discuss the crisis of petrol & diesel prices. MPs from all
Parties backed the call for a rethink on fuel duty. The FairFuelUK campaign has
attracted the support of more than 200,000 members of the public and over 150
Parliamentarians.
What the most up to date and largest survey on fuel pricing says go to www.fairfueluk.com/survey2.html
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