With GDP growth slowing, unemployment and inflation
rising, astonishingly Rachel Reeves still claims she has stabilised the
economy.
Is that what you are experiencing in your daily life?
Ask your MP to stop any hike in Fuel Duty. Better still ask them to cut it!
The Tax cut that Labour’s Net Zero Zealots are scared to support.
Here we are again, the needless requirement in the lead-up to the Winter Budget to convince the Treasury of the economic and social case for reducing fuel duty, or at the very least maintaining it at the current level.
Once in Government, a form of collective fiscal amnesia seems to take hold, undermining the Cabinet’s long-term understanding that road transport taxes are indeed regressive and significantly impact the UK’s GDP, inflation, job creation, business investment, low-income families and society’s freedom of movement.
Fuel duty has remained frozen for the past 15 years, currently standing at 6p less than when the Labour Party was last in power. This has been of immense benefit to Britain's motorists and has significantly strengthened the Treasury's finances due to the consequential reduction in inflationary pressure.
With this much beleaguered Chancellor's second Budget on November 26, we must debate sensibly, yet again, whether cutting fuel duty could provide meaningful relief to households and stimulate economic growth, versus Ed Miliband’s myopia to stop us all driving and to be imprisoned in the unelected globalists’ 15-minute cities, to progress Labour’s bankrupting journey to a pointless Net-Zero.
But this time, maybe Sir Keir Starmer’s ill-informed Cabinet and the cash-grabbing, tax-raising Treasury should listen to their constituents who, last year, gave this Government a substantial parliamentary majority.
In FairFuelUK’s 15th annual ‘open to all’ pre-Budget opinion poll, which to date has over 36,000 responses, three out of 4 voters who chose Labour in 2024 want Fuel Duty to be cut or at the very least kept at the current level. Amazingly, in this poll, one in ten Labour voters want Fuel Duty scrapped. How can Rachel Reeves ignore that?
The cost-of-living crisis continues to negatively impact families and small businesses across the United Kingdom, regardless of their political persuasion. The nation’s current financial state seems to be taking a back seat to immigration, digital ID, and the former Prince Andrew’s alleged sexual proclivities in most of the recent headlines. That must change!
Fuel prices remain a significant component of household expenditure, especially for those who rely on personal vehicles for commuting, caring responsibilities, or living in rural areas. Cutting fuel duty would directly reduce the price of petrol and diesel at the pump, offering immediate financial relief to millions of drivers and helping to ease pressure on household budgets.
In FairFuelUK’s poll, 9 out of 10 commercial vehicle and truck drivers want Fuel Duty frozen, cut or even scrapped. Their opposition to Labour’s rumoured pay-per-mile plans runs deep, too, with 97% of those who responded believing that such a policy can never be set fairly, even if it were to replace Fuel Duty entirely.
None of us must forget that the commercial heartbeat of the economy runs on diesel. Under the Tories and now Labour, the UK continues to tax diesel drivers at one of the highest rates in the world.
Road transport taxes influence the price of goods and services throughout the supply chain, from manufacturing to retail. By reducing fuel duty, the government can lower transportation costs for businesses, making British goods more competitive and definitely curb inflation. This, in turn, will boost consumer confidence and spending throughout the country’s marketplace, supporting broader economic recovery.
And more to the point, proven time and again by FairFuelUK’s decades of commissioned independent economic evidence, cutting fuel duty means increased growth taxes from businesses.
Rural and remote communities are also disproportionately affected by high fuel costs, as public transportation options don’t compare to those enjoyed by politicians in major cities. For these communities, private vehicles are more than essential for accessing work, education, healthcare, and other services. A cut in fuel duty would help to alleviate the financial burden faced by rural residents, promoting greater social and economic inclusion.
Fuel prices are closely linked to inflation, with increases often triggering rises in the cost of goods and services. At a time when inflation remains a concern for policymakers, reducing fuel duty will help to moderate price increases across the economy. This would benefit not only motorists but also businesses and consumers more broadly.
Lower fuel costs can make the UK a more attractive destination for investment, particularly in sectors such as logistics, delivery, and manufacturing. By cutting fuel duty, the government would signal its commitment to supporting enterprise and innovation, potentially encouraging businesses to expand and create new jobs.
The Centre for Economic and Business Research predicted for FairFuelUK that raising fuel duty would bring only very short-term, minimal benefits to the Treasury. They also strongly suggested that raising fuel duty would result in a decline of more than 60% in tax revenue to the Treasury within five years. Any short-term gain is just not worth the long-term fiscal pain.
It cannot be made more evident to the Chancellor that a reduction in fuel duty in the November 26th budget will provide tangible benefits for households, businesses, and communities across the country. It would help to address the cost-of-living crisis, support economic growth, assist rural areas, and ease inflationary pressures. It will also generate more profits for businesses and increase corporate tax revenue for the Treasury. While fiscal considerations must be weighed, the case for cutting fuel duty is massively compelling, provable and merits serious consideration by policymakers.
In addition, the Chancellor must announce that her Government will continue the entire delivery and roll-out of FairFuelUK’s and the Conservative government's PumpWatch scheme to stop the unchecked years of opportunistic profiteering in the fuel supply chain.
Supermarket fuel margins averaged circa 9 per cent in the three months to June, according to the CMA. Compared to just 4 per cent in 2017. Non-supermarket forecourts too, also increased their margins, earning nearly 11 per cent in the three months to June. The margin in 2017 was much less at 6.4 per cent.
In fact, current petrol and diesel prices at the pumps, according to FairFuelUK, are currently 5p and 9p per litre higher, respectively, than they should be.
Through FairFuelUK's PumpWatch, the Conservative government was focused on protecting motorists, families and small businesses across the United Kingdom. I respectfully urge Labour to do the same and reimplement PumpWatch, but ensure it has real legislative teeth to stop these unchecked rip-offs.
And keeping Fuel Duty frozen at the very least will be one of the best fiscal stimuli for this unpopular government’s chances of restoring faith in its leadership. In contrast, hiking it could be the final political blow in Labour’s succession of self-inflicted disasters.
As we approach the Winter Budget, which has been deceitfully scheduled just a month before Christmas, we will be contacting you with several requests for your vital help in preventing a likely increase in the cost of filling up our cars, vans, and trucks at petrol stations. The first in 15 years.
We reliably hear Rachel Reeves plans to increase Fuel Duty by 10p. With VAT, that’s a 12p per litre hike or over £6 extra per family car fill-up and a staggering £50 more per truck. Trucks that deliver everything in our lives.
Since 2010, your ongoing support—alongside 1.7 million other FairFuelUK supporters—has been instrumental in securing a 10% reduction in fuel duty over the past 15 years. FairFuelUK has saved thousands of pounds in planned fuel duty increases and put that money back into the economy, an estimated £200 billion.
Please don’t underestimate just how much of a difference you make. We must ensure it happens again, but preferably by getting a cut in this regressive tax.
This will indeed be our most intense lobbying battle since 2010.
Had you and other supporters not backed FairFuelUK in the last decade, petrol and diesel could now be running at £2.20 per litre. Consider what those sky-high prices would have done to inflation, economic growth, business investment, job creation, and your disposable income.
Yes, that’s right, our economy would now be in deep, deep recession, if it were not for your help.
The commercial lifeblood of the economy, diesel, here in the UK, remains the most heavily taxed in the world. This fuel influences all our lives, even for those who don’t drive.
It reveals how ignorant a succession of governments' actions are, maintaining the essential driver of economic growth and business survival at exorbitant levels of taxation in the name of the trillion-pound, costly net-zero fantasy.
And of course, for an easy tax grab to fund more and more illegal immigrants.
We have continuously operated purely through the kind generosity of supporters' donations. Those rich trade and motoring associations have done nothing to help with the cost of filling up. Nearly all instead believe and buy into Labour’s Net Zero plans at the detriment of all our wallets.
Here is our BIGASK!
So, I humbly ask if you’d consider making a donation or a regular monthly contribution. We are trying to raise over £50,000 to commission more independent fiscal evidence that raising Fuel Duty will be both economic and political suicide.
Howard Cox
Thanks mainly to FairFuelUK, fuel duty has been frozen for
15 years and remains at its current level, which includes a temporary 5p cut.
Some armchair experts who despise supporting the UK’s 37 million drivers argue
that restoring or unfreezing fuel duty could generate more than £3 billion a
year. Utter nonsense!
The freeze on this regressive tax since 2011 means that
drivers have spent a larger portion of their disposable income, if any, in the
economy, and businesses have remained solvent due to lower-than-expected
transport costs.
Had the fuel price escalator been strictly adhered to, the UK
would now be facing a deep recession. It is now close to that situation.
No other tax exerts such a profound influence on economic
growth, inflation, employment, and business investment as the significant tax
on filling up at the pumps. Every part of our nation relies on road transport
for construction, small trade contractors, food, clothing, internet deliveries,
postal services, medical support, family cohesion, community interaction, and
mental well-being.
We have heard from reliable Treasury sources that the Autumn
Budget will introduce a 10p increase. This marks a reversal of Sunak’s 5p Covid
cut, along with an additional 5p per litre, which will hinder economic growth.
Filling up an average family car after such a punitive tax hike, including the
egregious double tax of VAT, will cost an extra £6.60; an average Transit will
incur £15 more; and a large HGV will face an additional £70.
Any increase in Fuel Duty is regressive and hits low-income
families hardest.
The political left, and, of course, the well-funded, environmentally
conscious Greens, will be salivating with delight at the thought of an end to a
decade-and-a-half freeze on fuel duty. They do not understand how to manage an
economy; their aim is only to wield total control in the hands of wealthy,
unelected idealists.
Therefore, there are limited options for further tax increases, apart from targeting easy ones, such as drivers. This duplicitous and dishonest government
has already targeted pensioners, farmers, private education, and SMEs, and
remains oblivious to how to provide a concrete solution to the cost-of-living
crisis.
Despite the recent decline in pump prices, the UK's annual
inflation rate has risen to 3.8% (July 2025), primarily owing to increased household energy
bills, transport costs, airfares, and council tax. This figure is significantly
higher than that of France (0.9%) and Germany (2.2%) in April.
The Prime Minister has committed the UK to the EU carbon
credit prices, known as European Union Allowances (EUAs). The current rate in
the UK is £64.90 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, while the EU's rate
is higher at around €73.50 per tonne of CO2; prices fluctuate based on
factors such as natural gas prices, energy demand, and the EU's Emissions
Trading System (EU ETS). In simple terms, in the UK, we will have no choice but
to pay more for gas, electricity, and, eventually, much more at the pumps.
Support from anti-driver groups is increasing for the
Chancellor to introduce pay-per-mile car taxes, which would transform the
current system and reportedly recover billions in revenue for the Government.
However, such an approach will never be fair and will disproportionately impact
businesses, raising their costs. A road user fuel tax may seem attractive, but
in reality, it cannot be implemented without incurring significant
administrative costs.
At present, diesel, which serves as the commercial heartbeat
of the economy and is essential for driving economic growth, is the most
heavily taxed fuel in Europe. In Spain, it is taxed 21p less, in Germany at 13p
lower, and in the Netherlands at 25p below the UK.
The average diesel fuel tax in Europe is 15p lower than that
in the UK.
I will fight hard and push Rachel Reeves to implement a sensible
fiscal policy by incentivising lower transport costs through keeping Fuel Duty
frozen for the duration of this Parliament. Additionally, I will ensure that FairFuelUK’s PumpWatch is fully operational to prevent opportunistic
profiteering at the pumps.
Howard Cox, Founder of FairFuelUK
1. ....Cut fuel duty big, to stimulate the economy, reduce inflation, increase consumer spending & generate other taxes from the resultant impact of lowering this regressive tax
Ensure our PumpWatch programme launched in 2023, that the CMA backed, is re-introduced with teeth to make petrol & diesel pricing at the pumps fair, honest & transparent
Scrap the 2030 un-consulted and needless ban on new petrol/diesel car sales. What's the point of bankrupting the economy? When the virtue signalling 2030, Diesel/ Petrol Ban will cost at least 5 times the alleged environmental benefits. It's fiscal insanity!
Stop the continuing cash grabbing vitriolic myopic local authority warfare on UK's 37m drivers (These include ULEZs, LTNs, 15 Mins Localities, Cycle Lanes that cause congestion etc)
Recognise motorists are not just cash cows to be demonised by politicians & much of the ultra left wing media, but instead are the essential social & commercial heartbeat of our economy. They must not be used as an excuse to allegedly improve the environment.
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that any increase in CO2 is linked to global warming. And that mankind cannot make any difference to climate change.
