Avoid shorter journeys, motorists told after ‘worst week of pain’ at the petrol pumps
Senior Tories say PM and Chancellor are ‘being leant on by the Treasury’ to keep tax revenues coming in
THE AA has advised motorists to avoid shorter car journeys to save money on petrol, as Rishi Sunak has come under pressure from Cabinet colleagues to make further cuts to fuel duty.
The average price of a litre of petrol at forecourts reached a record of 183.2p on Thursday, according to the data firm Experian, an increase of 7.3p in a week which has outstripped the 5p tax cut made by the Chancellor in March.
Edmund King, the AA president, said: “This is the worst week of pump pain so far for drivers. We would urge drivers to cut out shorter car journeys, and walk or cycle to save money.”
Simon Williams, the RAC fuel spokesman, accused the Government of being “fixated on ensuring retailers are passing on March’s 5p duty cut fully”, claiming this is “ignoring the fact that wholesale costs of fuel have absolutely rocketed since then”.
Mr Williams added: “A temporary cut in VAT on fuel, or a deeper duty cut, are surely what is needed now.”
It is thought that Jacob Rees-mogg and at least one other Cabinet minister back further action to cut fuel prices.
One Cabinet member is said to be concerned that half of the cost of fuel comes from tax at a time that ministers have had to hand out support payments.
Yesterday, one minister admitted that the 5p cut to fuel duty had been “more than outweighed” by price rises.
Robin Walker, an education minister, said that there was a “strong case” for looking at “whatever we can do” to help with petrol prices.
However, there is concern from some ministers that further cuts to fuel duty would not be passed on to motorists.
Downing Street sources also played down the idea that fuel tax would be cut further, blaming fuel companies for the inflated prices.
Last night senior Tory backbenchers expressed frustration at the Treasury over delays to promised tax cuts.
It comes after a speech due to be given by Boris Johnson and Mr Sunak next week has been delayed for at least a fortnight after they held discussions. The speech was expected to announce a long-term “growth plan” for reducing people’s tax burden, and “cut costs in every area of household expenditure, from food to energy to childcare to transport and housing.”
On Thursday in Blackpool, Mr Johnson said the Government was “on your side” in “cutting the tax bill as fast as we responsibly can”.
“The overall burden of taxation is now very high – and sooner or later, and I would rather it was sooner than later, that burden must come down,” he said.
On Tuesday, the day after Mr Johnson won his confidence vote of Tory MPS, Mr Sunak said in a speech to the Onward think tank that he will set out “a range of tax cuts” in the autumn.
“This is at odds with the mood music of the party,” one senior Conservative MP told The Daily Telegraph last night.
“My suspicion is that they’re both being leant on by the Treasury. Rishi is not strong enough to stand up to the Treasury and Boris is quite debilitated at the moment.
“He should get a new chancellor without a doubt, someone stronger with the guts to take on the Treasury.”
Sir John Redwood, who coordinates the work of the new 1922 Committee Policy Committees, said: “The Treasury forecasts in the last two years have been wildly pessimistic. They underestimated tax revenues by a huge margin. The Prime Minister says he wants early tax cuts. He is right.”