One of the great successes of the past 5 years of coalition government has been keeping the tax on petrol down. The Conservative Party believes in keeping all taxes low as possible and this is particularly so with regard to fuel tax which impacts directly on everyone.
We ended the Fuel Escalator. This was the practice of automatically increasing fuel duty ahead of inflation. It was abolished on 9th November 2010. At that time the escalator automatically raised the price of fuel 6 per cent above the rate of inflation each year. It made our fuel the most expensive in Europe and 75 per cent of that cost was tax. We have now achieved the longest freeze of fuel duty for 20 years. In effect this means that our fuel is about 17 pence cheaper per litre than it would have been under Labour plans.
Actually we promised to take action to help motorists in our last manifesto – keeping taxes down on busnesses and families is key part of our long-term economic plan to build a healthier economy where families are more financially secure. Keeping tax on petrol low is important not only because it makes life a bit easier for families when they fill up their tank, but also because businesses – in particular small businesses – rely on affordable petrol to grow and create the jobs that make our economy stronger and families more secure.
Increases planned by Labour for fuel duty would have hit us all hard at the pumps. A typical motorist saves about £10 when he or she fills up the petrol tank – compared with what the Labour party envisaged.