FAIRFUELUK URGES UK GOVT TO FOLLOW FRENCH LEAD AND CUT FUEL TAXES TO BOOST ECONOMIC GROWTH

The RAC backed national FairFuelUK campaign has continually called for a cut in fuel duty to stimulate the UK economy and is now repeating this call on the UK Government to follow France in cutting petrol & diesel prices and drive our nation into growth.

The French government has today announced extensive measures to lower the price of fuel which has reached a record 1.46 euros. (£1.15). President, Francois Hollande, will work with fuel suppliers to bring an immediate reduction of 6 cents per litre to protect French consumers, farmers and producers from financial hardship. The French government recognises the damage to growth and spending power of high diesel and petrol prices and has vowed to take immediate action and also resolved to bring in permanent measure to control national fuel prices.

Quentin Willson, national spokesman for FairFuelUK said, 'We're being embarrassed by the French! The UK has been in recession for ages, yet getting our government to recognise the damage to our economy of rising fuel prices has been as easy as translating Proust. But as soon as the French see their economy crashing, they act with speed to control the economic damage of expensive fuel. Our fuel costs are even higher than France's yet we still do nothing to lower duty.

Peter Carroll, founder of FairFuelUK said: 'In the CEBR Report we commissioned earlier this year, our findings suggest that a 2.5 pence reduction in fuel duty would result in the creation of thousands of jobs. Such a reduction, we estimate, would not result in any fiscal loss to the Government AND GDP would receive a boost of 0.32 per cent within a year. The Government cannot keep ignoring this overwhelming evidence and the wishes of hundreds of thousands of FairFuelUK supporters. The French seem to have got it....!'

FairFuelUK is supported by over 300,000 members of the public, the RAC with its 7 million members, the 20,000 haulage businesses in the RHA, FTA, the British Bank Aldermore and Palletline.

CEBR Report http://www.fairfueluk.com/cebr.html

As political pressure builds in Westminster to see the 3p August Fuel Duty rise scrapped, Peter Carroll, founder of FairFuelUK met with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander MP in Westminster yesterday, 25th June.

Peter Carroll said, ‘I am grateful to Tessa Munt, MP for Wells and long standing supporter of FairFuelUK for her help in arranging this important meeting. I took the opportunity to personally present Mr Alexander with a copy of our research showing that the planned 3p rise would do more harm than good in terms of overall tax revenues. I was able to leave him in no doubt about the strength and depth of feeling amongst both voters and the business community on this vital issue. I explained that families were having to chose between food and fuel, that the rise would cause serious harm to our road freight industry and that it would hurt many thousands of UK businesses. I highlighted the central part of our argument – that the Government should cut fuel duty to stimulate growth.'

Quentin Willson, national spokesman for FairFuelUK said, ‘Over 50 MPs, including some from the Government benches, have united with the SNP and other parties in the call to see the 3p rise scrapped. Overnight, the Labour Party has swung behind our call. It’s in the Governments own interest to stop this rise’.

Photo: Left to Right: Tessa Munt MP, Peter Carroll FFUK (holding copy of the CEBR Report) , Danny Alexander MP

China's price-control body, the NDRC, is reducing petrol and diesel prices by 5% from Saturday.