Why Is the UK Motorist so highly Taxed?

Why is it so difficult for this Labour Administration to recognise and truly understand that motorists are more than just a cash cow, and that, in objective fiscal and social terms, lower transport costs have been independently proven to aid economic growth? 

All the evidence shows that this Government treats motorists as easy-to-fleece cash cows, as evidenced by their catalogue of anti-driver policies, all driven by an unhealthy cult-like worship of an unattainable net-zero target. 

Amid the 2026 global oil price spike triggered by Middle East tensions, the Iran conflict, and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz from around March 1st, over 40 countries have taken fiscal measures to reduce petrol and diesel costs, mainly through tax and levy cuts, price caps, excise reductions, or subsidies. Most of these measures mitigate increases rather than deliver deep cuts below pre-crisis levels, even as global crude prices surge. But that is not the point; they have still helped motorists considerably. Some countries achieved actual reductions, year-on-year drops, or significantly lower increases than in other countries. Here are some examples of how astute political administrations have reduced some of the pain caused by high fuel prices. 

South Africa reduced the general fuel levy by R3 per litre for petrol and diesel. Australia has halved the fuel excise tax for three months and paused road user charges for trucks. India has cut excise duties and had state oil firms absorb losses. Most EU countries have introduced targeted relief measures that have, in some form, reduced the cost of filling up, notably Spain’s €5 billion support package, which includes substantial VAT cuts. Italy continues to extend its fuel excise duty cuts. Vietnam scrapped some fuel taxes, leading to fuel prices falling by 20% from spiked levels. Nigeria periodically cuts wholesale/ex-depot prices. I could list more examples of how government intervention by countries around the world has helped reduce rocketing pump prices caused by the Middle East conflict. 

But back here in Blighty, even though the Chancellor has relished in more than half a billion pounds of unexpected extra VAT since the geopolitical crisis started, she has done nothing to reduce the cost of filling up at the pumps. During Rachel Reeves’s period of fiscal inertia, UK drivers have had to pay an extra £3.6 billion at the pumps, giving the fuel supply chain a massive windfall in profits it would not have enjoyed had Iran and the USA not been at war. Under considerable pressure from my 16-year-old FairFuelUK Campaign and the delivery of a 150,000-signature petition, initially turned away by a Treasury jobsworth but successfully delivered by 9 Tory MPs to the Chancellor's Parliamentary Office, the Chancellor reluctantly extended Rishi Sunak’s 5p per litre fuel duty cut until the end of 2026. Whoop-de-doo! 

UK petrol prices remain above the EU average, with diesel, the commercial heartbeat of any economy, even higher. The UK average petrol price at the time of this article is 159p per litre, and diesel is 190p. Petrol is 20% higher than it was when the Iran Crisis hit us, and diesel is a massive 33% higher. In context, Malta’s petrol price is 47p per litre cheaper than the UK's forecourt price. Germany’s diesel is 19p per litre lower than the UK’s, and Poland’s is a staggering 53p cheaper. UK fuel prices have always been among the highest in the world, driven by high, less diesel-favourable taxation and global oil movements. 

However, maintaining the 2022 Budget 5p cut has provided meaningful relief, even though filling up today still leaves the UK in a higher-tax position than many of its peers, who reacted swiftly in 2026 by implementing fresh cuts or caps. 

In summary, I will continue to try to engage with the Treasury and Labour’s front bench to show them, for the 17th year, that high pump prices, due mainly to high fuel levies, raise transport and production costs, feed inflation, and reduce household disposable income and spending, particularly for lower- to moderate-income, car-dependent households. Lower transport costs can support economic activity by freeing up household and business spending and reducing input costs. Independent evidence shows that fuel price shocks slow growth and hit vulnerable groups hardest. 

It’s time for a 20-year-long-term road user strategy that not only protects the economy from recession but also puts drivers at the centre of any economic growth plan. And by the way, Net Zero must be scrapped, and the UK must become self-sufficient in energy supply, which means we must ‘drill, baby, drill’. And we must start right now before the UK descends into economic oblivion!