The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has given motorists some respite over fuel duty increases. 
In the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement he announced that the proposed January increase in fuel duty had been scrapped and a 5 pence per litre increase due in August 2012 had been reduced to an increase of 3 pence per litre. This will all come as welcome news to motorists who are having to deal with average fuel prices of 133.06 pence per litre.
The scrap in the duty increase will save a motorist filling up a car with a 50 litre tank £1.80 each time they fill up, 30 pence of which would have come from VAT added to the extra duty.
Mr Osborne claims that the fuel duty adjustments, which see a total increase next year of 3 pence per litre instead of 8 pence per litre, will save an average family £144 per year.
AA President, Edmund King, said: “The Chancellor has seen sense on this vital issue. Cash-strapped drivers will heave a heavy duty sigh of relief as current pump prices are close to the record high.
“This measure will not only be a relief to drivers but also to the high street as drivers have less to spend if more money is pumped into their tanks. It is still tough on the streets for many drivers but at least the Chancellor hasn’t added to their pain. As the AA has been saying he understands that cars are a necessity and not a luxury.”
FairFuelUK’s Quentin Willson said: “This is a victory for us but only a stay of execution. We’ve saved the UK 9p since March in proposed fuel duty rises and we are now the gatekeepers of fuel sanity for this country.
“We’re going to carry on pressurising this Government to keep duty down and reduce it significantly. If we don’t, they’ll hike it up again the first chance they get.”
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