Johnson hints at help for drivers
BORIS Johnson hinted at giving extra help to motorists battling sky-high petrol prices as he desperately tried to repair trust with voters yesterday.
Speaking at the G7 Summit in Bavaria, the Prime Minister signalled extra support could be on the way.
The Treasury cut 5p off fuel duty in March but some campaigners claim that retailers have failed to pass on the full reduction.
The prices have soared to more than £2 in some places and because the Government charges VAT on fuel, the cost is injecting billions of pounds of extra tax into public coffers.
Mr Johnson, reeling from two by-election defeats last week, told the BBC: “The lesson that I [and] people like me need to learn from what’s going on, the inflationary pressures that we are seeing around the world, are – number one, we need to help people through the current pressures.
“At the pumps, people are thinking, ‘You know, this Government could do more to help with the cost of fuel’. So we’re doing as much as we possibly can.” His comments come as the average price at the pumps hit almost £2 a litre for diesel.
The average cost of unleaded fuel jumped to 191.05p while diesel rose to 199.09p per litre before settling at 198.94p at the weekend.
The RAC accused retailers of “classic rocket and feather” tactics – sending prices soaring as wholesale costs rise but being far slower to lower them as costs drop. The Competition and Markets Authority is probing concerns the fuel duty cut is not being passed on.
However, Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said: “Petrol retailers have been unfairly scapegoated.”
Number one, we need to help people through the current pressures
BORIS JOHNSON SAYS TORIES ARE DOING WHAT THEY CAN