Sir Ed Davey calls for immediate 10p cut to fuel duty
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is urging the government to implement a temporary 10p cut to fuel duty until Christmas and to cancel a planned increase set for January.
By BBC News
Sir Ed Davey has called on the government to immediately reduce fuel duty by 10p per litre until Christmas as part of a broader strategy to alleviate the cost of living crisis. He also urged the government to abandon a permanent increase in fuel duty scheduled for January 2027.
The Liberal Democrat leader stated that fuel duty was frozen under the Conservative government in March 2022, and that the current government has continued this freeze, delaying a planned 3p increase until the end of the year.
According to the Liberal Democrats, a 10p reduction in fuel duty would result in a 12p decrease in fuel prices at the pump. Sir Ed Davey argued that this temporary measure would stimulate the economy and effectively pay for itself through increased tax revenues from the energy profits levy, gas taxes, VAT, and fuel duty. He estimated the cost of this policy at approximately £2 billion.
In addition to the fuel duty proposal, Sir Ed Davey plans to advocate for a reduction in the bus fare cap from £3 to £1 and a 10% decrease in rail fares during his upcoming speech at the party conference. He will also call for the removal of VAT on public charging points for electric vehicles and a review of network costs that the party has deemed unfair.
Chancellor John Healey is facing pressure to either raise taxes or cut spending in the upcoming Budget, amid rising government borrowing costs. In response to Sir Ed's fuel duty proposal, Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson acknowledged that while the Labour government has already taken action on fuel duty, she is open to considering suggestions ahead of the budget.
Sir Ed Davey has also ruled out scrapping the state pension triple lock, despite comments from former business secretary Sir Vince Cable suggesting it should be phased out. He emphasized the importance of the triple lock in addressing pensioner poverty, stating that the work to tackle this issue is not yet complete.