The Chancellor has frozen fuel duty rates for another year in the budget, in a move ‘welcomed’ by the RAC.
Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, said in his speech to MPs: “Because inflation remains high, I have decided that now is not the right time to uprate fuel duty with inflation or increase the duty.
“For a further twelve months I am going to maintain the 5p cut, I am going to freeze fuel duty too.”
He added that the move will save motorists £200 since the cut was introduced.
This news could see an end to the ‘dark clouds’ the RAC predicted for motorists before the full Budget plans were revealed.
The RAC’s head of road policy, Nicholas Lyes, said they ‘welcome’ the decision to keep the cut in place.
He added: “The cut has given drivers some much-needed relief in what has been the most torrid year ever at the pumps, with price records being broken even after duty was cut.”
The RAC say fuel duty should be kept low as a measure to help fight inflation.
Priti Patel, the former Home Secretary, joined with other MPs to call on the Chancellor to freeze the duty, prior to the budget.
Following the announcement of the freeze, Patel tweeted about the ‘great victory for motorists’ and the freeze will help ‘families every time they fill up their cars’.
The government say the extension is intended to ‘support households and businesses at times of high oil prices.’
The news from the Chancellor has not been welcomed by all from the political spectrum, with Labour MP John McDonnell saying it was ‘appalling’ that the country can afford £6bn cutting fuel duty but can’t afford to give a pay rise to ‘teachers, lecturers, nurses, junior doctors & health workers & civil servants’.
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas focused on the environmental side of the freeze saying it has ‘increased emissions by 5%’ and it ‘benefits the richest households the most’.
While the Chancellor has promised to continue both the fuel duty freeze and cut, it remains to be seen how he will deal with fuel duty in the future.
Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay
