Quentin Willson's FairFuelUK Blog

A POST BUDGET MESSAGE TO FAIRFUELUK SUPPORTERS: TAKING STOCK

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

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budget - FairFuelUK Supporters Information

A message of thanks from the FairFuelUK campaign team……… and a simple ‘ask’ of you….

Dear FairFuelUK Supporter,

As you know, the Chancellor confirmed in his Budget the cancellation of the rise in Fuel Duty planned for Sept this year - another great step for our campaign. Now seems like a good time to ‘take stock’ and let you know how we see things going forward.

First: Quentin, Howard, Lynne and I would like to say a big THANK YOU to you for supporting us. Without the support of large numbers of people like yourself and the backing of our 6 major sponsors, we simply couldn’t do what we do.
Second: It’s all too easy to lose track of just how hard we have fought and just how much has been achieved. Let’s be clear, your FairFuelUK team know that petrol & diesel taxes remain too high and are still a major burden to families and businesses. We know that stopping rises in Fuel Duty is not enough!!!! We know that we need a substantial cut in Fuel Duty. That said, every cancellation of a rise is a vital stepping stone on our journey. Let’s just whizz through how we started and how many rises we have seen either postponed or cancelled. Even we were surprised by this list …..

Jan 2011	FairFuelUK founded by myself, Lynne Beaumont and Howard Cox
Feb 2011	First sponsors commit support – the RHA and FTA (these two organisations represent the nation’s road freight companies – their support has been unwavering and is still vital)
Feb 2011	Quentin Willson agrees to be national spokesman for FairFuelUK
Mar 2011	5p inflationary rise postponed and a 1p cut given, smaller rise of 3p now planned for Sept 2011
Aug 2011	3p rise postponed to 2012
Jan 2012	3p rise postponed again to August 2012
Aug 2012	3p rise postponed to Jan 2013
Jan 2013	3p rise cancelled
Mar 2013	3p rise planned for Sept 2013 cancelled

In other words, every attempt to raise fuel duty since April 2011 has been defeated. It’s also worth remembering that the Government had inherited a plan to raise Fuel Duty by an extra 1p ABOVE INFLATION in each and every year. This was called the ‘escalator’. This ‘escalator’ was also cancelled in the March 2011 Budget.

Most commentators agree that petrol & diesel prices are about 13p lower than they would have been if our campaign hadn’t worked. (Some commentators think the figure should be higher – but it depends on how you count postponements and cancellations).

With your help, we have built the momentum to a level that means the politicians in Westminster take notice of what we say. One MP even commented that ‘when FairFuelUK campaigns, Westminster rocks’.

So what next? We’re going to use the coming months to press the Government ever harder with our argument that they need to CUT Fuel Duty to stimulate growth. Despite all our successes in defeating further rises, we still need to convince the Government that reducing Fuel Duty won’t cost them as much revenue as they think because of the boost it will give to the UK economy. We will be meeting Treasury Ministers and officials in the next few weeks as first steps.

Many of our supporters ask us what else they can do to help. Here’s some ideas……….

If you haven’t already done so, please consider buying a FairFuelUK sticker or other merchandise. The revenue helps the campaign and a show of stickers boosts the visibility of the campaign. Here's the link to get a sticker
Please spread word of FairFuelUK to everyone you know. The more people that ‘sign up’ at www.fairfueluk.com the more powerful our voice becomes.
Please visit the websites of our major sponsors. Click their logos on this page to learn more about the organisations who are fighting on your behalf for lower fuel prices at the pumps. Without them we could have been paying 13p more per litre. Give them a ‘follow’ on Twitter as well. Their Twitter details are listed too.
Please join in when we ask our supporters to email their MPs – believe us, this works! On some days over 25,000 of our supporters have communicated with their MPs. The sheer scale of this correspondence lifts the campaign profile in the minds of MPs.
Please continue to send in your comments, ideas, copies of replies received from your MP etc. We do read and try and take into account everything that comes into us. We aim to reply on every occasion, but hope that you might understand that during certain periods like the run up to the Budget and Autumn Statement we sometimes get a little overwhelmed.

For now, that’s it. As ever, once again, many thanks for all your support and interest….. the fight goes on …………..

Thanks to you for your support…………

Very kind regards,

Peter Carroll and the The FairFuelUK Team

Quentin Willson

Peter
Carroll

Lynne Beaumont

Howard
Cox

Follow FairFuelUK on Twitter and Like us on Facebook

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QUENTIN WILLSON WRITES IN THE SUNDAY MIRROR FOLLOWING THE BUDGET:

Sunday, March 24, 2013

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FAIRFUELUK'S BUDGET REACTION

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

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Reacting to news that September's Fuel Duty Rise is Cancelled FairFuelUK spokesman Quentin Willson said:

This is welcome news for families and businesses across the UK as far as it goes. It is a sign that the Government is listening, but there will be widespread disappointment that the cancellation of this duty rise gives them no immediate relief from climbing fuel prices. Cancelling a rise that really shouldn't happen is not enough. The Government needs to cut duty substantially to get the economic growth we all need.

The good news is that our Campaign has helped prevent 13 pence of Fuel Duty Rises in the last 2 years. That's £6.5 Billion of tax we have not paid. The Cancelled Tax rise planned for this September means £1 Billion of Duty savings and don't forget there's VAT on top. The FTA a major backer of FairFuelUK has worked out that this cancellation will save over £200m to commercial vehicles. What would have happened to inflation and prices if this Fuel Duty increase had been implemented?

We will continue to fight for Fuel Duty Cuts. We know the Government accepts our arguments for growth as a result of a Fuel Duty Cut, but they seem nervous to make this happen. We will continue on your behalves to make them be bolder and to take the sensible decisions.

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THE RHA AND THE APN CALL FOR A BUDGET CUT IN FUEL DUTY

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

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One of our key Campaign Backers, the Road Haulage Association, has highlighted the impact that a 3p per litre cut in fuel duty will have on haulage operators.

Geoff Dunning, RHA Chief Executive said; "UK road transport operators are the people who actually keep the wheels of the economy moving. To them, diesel fuel represents the life blood without which, they are unable to function. Yet for many hauliers, high levels of fuel duty mean that diesel is fast becoming a luxury item”.

According to an RHA-funded report from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, a fuel duty cut of 3ppl, would:

·Create 70,000 jobs
·Boost the economy by 0.2% - essential at a time when financial growth is so critical
·Reduce the fiscal position by £1800M – much less than the £3 billion the Treasury would expect.

The report also clearly states that a fuel duty increase of 3ppl would:

·Cut 35,000 jobs
·Cut growth by 0.1%
·And improve the fiscal deficit by only £880M. That’s 40% less tax revenue than Government predictions and in stark contrast to forecasts that every 1ppl duty increase would raise £500M.

When so many are suffering financially, what better way to get the wheels of the economy moving?

Another of FairFuelUK’s key Campaign Backers, the Association of Pallet Networks (APN), makes it clear what a 3p Fuel Duty Cut will do for the UK Economy and hauliers.

Paul Sanders, Chairman of the APN said: '£1.2m of fuel tax would be removed from our costs enabling our members to make a profit , stay in business, invest in jobs and new greener technology. This tax saving as the FairFuelUK Campaign has repeatedly shown will stimulate the UK economy and bring tax revenue from growth,easily covering any shortfall to the government. APN members represent over 600 hauliers and 24,400 Trucks who contribute to the Treasury over £25m in Fuel Duty each year. For every 1p rise in Duty this will add nearly £500,000 of costs to our APN members.Such an increase will further cripple UK all truck operators. We have to have a fuel duty cut now!'

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