The Labour Party have upped their attempt to win over disillusioned Conservative voters, by calling on the Government to rule out a fuel duty rise if there is headroom ahead of next Budget, as they warn inflation could see petrol prices hit record highs.
They [Labour] say that projections show the cost of livingcrunch will continue, and one way to ease the burden would be for the Chancellor to rule out increasing the levy on fuel if OBR show it’s affordable.
An analysis by Labour claims that is the government doesn’t act, 12p would be added to price of a litre of petrol due to inflation.
This would be the biggest increase in petrol prices on record (beating the previous record in June 2022 when petrol rose by 7.54p in a single week). And they point out that Petrol prices remain at historic highs, with figures showing that unleaded petrol prices are still a third higher than in 2020.
Labour claim that with Britain’s public transport system decimated by “years of Tory mistakes”, many households are forced to rely on their cars to get to work.
They go on to say that with thousands of businesses facing new challenges after a withdrawal of government support, another big rise in petrol will have a knock-on impact on an already weakened economy.
It comes after one of the most volatile years for petrol prices on record, and growing concerns that even when prices dropped, they weren’t being properly passed on to consumers, as the numbers on petrol forecourts remained high.
Labour reveal that between mid-June and the latest data referring to mid-November, the price of crude oil acquired by refineries fell by 19 per cent.
But despite that, the price of unleaded petrol only fell by just 10 per cent over that period – with the price of diesel only dropping by 1 per cent. Labour say the government must act to end the dither and delay with making sure price falls make their way to motorists.
The pressure from Labour comes ahead of a Budget where cost of living and higher bills will continue to plague households and they see an opportunity to win over the voters who supported the Conservatives in the last election, including the white van man.
Labour are also highlighting the need for more than just a “taxpayer funded sticking plaster” but say motorist need “long-term”, help and support because of volatile petrol prices and 13 years of failure to invest in public transport and the transition to clean vehicles.
Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor said: “Many families will be asking themselves whether they feel better off under the Tories, or whether anything is working better now than it did 13 years ago.
“The answer will be no. With so many families and businesses reliant on their cars, the government must rule out yet another fuel duty rise at the Budget to ease some of those pressures and prevent yet another shock to our economy.
“But we must move beyond these sticking plasters, and stop the dither and delay in passing on any dips in prices on to motorists.
“Britain cannot keep lurching from crisis to crisis. With Labour’s plan to boost energy security we will lower bills, tackle the climate crisis, get our economy growing and get living standards up.”
ENDS