Rise in fuel duty abandoned

Rise in fuel duty abandoned

As part of George Osborne's autumn statement on Wednesday, the British Chancellor has given clemency to cash-strapped motorists, and scrapped plans for the increase in fuel prices of 3 pence per litre which was due to be introduced in January 2013.

Despite a rather bleak outlook given by the Chancellor on Wednesday during his speech, drivers throughout the UK must be breathing a sigh of relief that their wallets won't be completely emptied at the start of the new year. If the price hike had indeed gone through, it is thought that the increase would have meant that motorists would pay around £2 more for their fuel every time they filled their tank.

An attempted bid to delay the rise in fuel duty by Labour last month failed. They were campaigning to delay the hike until April next year, in order to ease the strain on households with money troubles. Mr Osborne has said that there will be no postponement of the duty increase, as the plans have been scrapped altogether. The Chief Executive of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) commented: "Cancelling the rise in fuel duty will help to keep Britain's economy moving. It's not just good news for motorists - from supermarket food deliveries to life-saving emergency services, the nation depends on its roads. This is a saving for everyone,"

Quentin Willson, spokesperson for FairFuelUK, the award-winning campaign fighting for lower petrol and diesel prices, also commented: "To their credit the Treasury and the Chancellor have engaged constructively and have made the right decision."

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