Enough is enough! Cut fuel duty by 10p, says AA

MINISTERS have been told that ‘enough is enough’ after the cost of filling a family car with petrol surged past £100.

The AA said a 10p fuel duty cut was needed because rocketing pump prices were ‘crippling’ hard-pressed motorists, many of whom rely on their vehicles to make ends meet.

The motoring group also called for a new ‘fuel price stabiliser’ which would automatically reduce taxes on petrol and diesel as prices surged.

Average petrol prices hit 182.31p a litre on Wednesday, up from 180.73p the day before. It means filling a typical 55-litre tank costs £100.27. Filling up with diesel costs £103.43 after the average cost of a litre jumped from 186.57p to 188.05p.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut fuel duty by 5p a litre in March but the savings have been wiped out by surging prices.

The RAC said the gesture looked ‘paltry’ due to wholesale petrol costs surging by five times that amount (25p) since the cut was announced. And there are fears some retailers are not passing on the duty cut to drivers in full, with ministers threatening to ‘name and shame’ those who don’t. Despite the cut in duty, the Treasury is raking in more in fuel taxes from drivers than it was this time last year due to a surge in VAT receipts.

The AA last night called for fuel duty to be slashed by another 10p a litre. President Edmund King said: ‘Enough is enough. The Government must act urgently to reduce the record fuel prices which are crippling the lives of those on lower incomes, rural areas and businesses.

‘A fuel price stabiliser is a fair means for the Treasury to help regulate the pump price, but alongside this they need to bring in more fuel price transparency to stop the daily rip-offs at the pumps. The £100 tank is not sustainable.’

An AA survey found that more than a quarter of drivers from lower-income households are cutting back on food bills and other essentials to keep their cars running. Across all income brackets, the figure is one in five. The Unison union said care workers were calling in sick because they could not afford to fill up their cars.

A government spokesman said: ‘We understand that people are struggling with rising prices, which is why we have acted to protect the 8 million most vulnerable British families through at least £1,200 of direct payments this year.’

The spokesman added: ‘There has been no “VAT windfall”. In March, the OBR forecasted lower VAT receipts for this year than they did in the autumn.’

‘Daily rip-offs at the pumps’