Is Darling set to axe the fuel duty rise?
Peter Hoskin 3:11pm
Alistair Darling's interviewed in today's Standard and, in response to a question about vehicle excise duty, he says:
Which is - I think rightly - being read as a strong sign he'll axe the 2p rise in fuel duty planned for this October."I think the bigger question for motorists, frankly, is the fuel duty ... That's something you pay every week, not once a year, and that is something that we in government are very focused upon."
I guess it would be U-turn No.1,347 for Darling, but it's a good U-turn nonetheless. At a time when huge swathes of the British public are struggling with the cost of living, there's a strong moral case against increasing the price of fuel. And it's a case that the Chancellor finally seems to have heard.
For this government, though, the problem is that they can introduce popular measures without increasing their own popularity. One of the most striking elements of the 10p tax debacle is that, even after being compensated, people don't seem ready to forgive the government for abolishing the 10p tax band in the first place. I expect there'll be much the same response over fuel duty. Especially when the Exchequer already accounts for an astonishing 66p of a £1.10 litre of petrol.
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Comments
Boyce
July 3rd, 2008 4:07pmA £1.10 litre of petrol? Where?
David C
July 3rd, 2008 4:10pmA government that acts out of fear, not out of conviction.
Even they know their mandate has run out.
Silent Hunter
July 3rd, 2008 5:10pmYes! Yet another bribe from the New Nasty Party to pretend that they actually give a damn about the people of this country.
If they weren't so low in the polls they would simply tell us to all 'go hang a thousand times'.
Funny that! A ZaNuPF politician commenting on our very own ZaNuLabour Party.
Liz Brown
July 3rd, 2008 5:24pmSurely what we want is action to ease the burden NOW not some time in the future - ditto the laughable winter fuel allowance
Perry, pondering petrol tax
July 3rd, 2008 5:26pmMindful that he, Coochy-Koo, cannot f**t without express permission of the Supreme & Beloved Commissar, he could try something completely different and axe himself, together with the entire fuel tax. After all, he, Darling, is only a place man, a cipher, a waste of space, and it (the fuel tax) is squandered. So why take it?
That would give DC, the oh-so-green sales rep for we-know-not-what, quite a bit to think about.
Alex
July 3rd, 2008 5:35pm66p out of £1.10 in fuel duty is outrageous!
What do Governments from other countries take in fuel duty? Does anyone know?
Max
July 3rd, 2008 8:08pmIt's come to this.
We are seriously debating whether we should be grateful that Brown is considering not raising petrol tax still further.
Madness, isn't it?
But I wonder if Brown given any thought to how he might handle a major disruption in oil supplies? How would we fare if, say, there was an outbreak of military violence in the Middle East in the next few months which took 20,000 barrels of oil a day off the world market?
We have the lowest stores of gas in Europe, we are a net importer of oil, and the ships and planes which bring us 40% of our food are all dependent on this fuel.
Just a thought.
Max
http://theerrorlog.blogspot.com/2008/07/surviving-in-britain-2.html
Max
July 3rd, 2008 8:10pmAlex, when last I looked, about a week ago, petrol was 53p a litre in the US and 35p a litre in Malaya.
The Americans thought 53p was overpriced.
Max
Travis Bickle
July 3rd, 2008 10:34pmSo the clown will keep fuel prices on hold for people that drive, say, 100,000 miles a year but double VED for car owners who might only drive, say, 3,000 miles a year.
And this is supposed to reduce car usage?
Scott Redding
July 4th, 2008 10:30amHe should take the 2p rise in fuel duty and put that money directly towards reducing fares on public transport.