BUDGET UPDATE: 2p duty rise delayed until October

I am a 66 year old War Vet. and drive an adapted Renault Kangoo from my wheelchair. When the weather allows me I go out shopping, am fully independant and do not have to rely on others to get me in and out of the car.
It is a little heavy on petrol but I do not drive more than about 5,000 miles per year. When I found this website for ' where to get the cheapest petrol I thought it a magnificent one.
PLEASE keep up the good work.

So now he has scrapped the 2p, but seeing as out of the 40p rise in fuel over the last 8 months he has creamed an extra 6p in VAT all I can say is BIG DEAL, what is 2p when we have looked at 40p. It is only half a weeks rise!!!!

Scrap the bloody duty full stop. Do not make the motorist prop up your failing economy. The money lost should come out of an income tax increase as this would hit 3 times more people, but would be paid for out of the reduction in prices caused by the fiasco of high fuel costs.

Who are these idiots who call themselves economists!!!

What's all this rubbish?,in October,there'll be a rise of 2p!! Every other day,since the last 3 weeks,there's been continual rises,in excess of said 2p,So,this is nonsense!,bread,milk,veg,butter,you name it,all blamed on fuel charges,which no-one person seems able to define the reason for such,other than lining the Governments pockets,I speak as a disabled driver,the only joy I have,is out in my car,no Saab,or Audi for me,but,simply a wee 1.1 Fiesta,and I like 1,000,000s of others,have great diffuculty in spending a day away from home,when the sun's out.Gone are the days,sad to say,Britain is just another pin in the E.E.C's cushion!,R.I.P.Great British public!...

I believe that the government can reduce inflation, discourage the need for interest rate staying high and stimulate growth (or stay off recession) simply by not being so greedy with the amount they take in petrol taxes.

As everyone else seems to agree here, its highway robbery and its killing us.

I understand that we pay VAT on goods. But how come we get charged VAT on the Fuel Tax. Anyone know if this has been challenged?

Peak Oil
I see your point to a certain extent.

It's bloody obvious that the world is running out of Oil.

It's also obvious that Opec have been priming us up for the past couple of years that prices are going to keep rising.

There is bareley a day that goes by now that the price of a barrel of oil does not go up, Opec has warned us that a barrel will hit $200 by the end of this year, what they mean is they have primed us up for the massive rises yet to be seen at the fuel pumps.

I believe we are going to see £2.00 a litre before the end of the year, the government are not to blame it's the greedy opec cartel.

Car manufactures are now starting to make duel fuel cars, it's only a matter of time before they come up with something good, in the meantime the oil companies are making hay whilst the sun shines because cars are not going to run of fuel for ever.

However the Government are not moaning are they because they are quietly racking in huge amounts of Tax's

Oil shares are amongst the most sought after shares in the stock market's today, I wonder why.

I strongly beleive that probrably a quarter of all uk motorist's will be virtualy driven off the roads by the end of this year.

Not only that but I think there is a real possibility that a fair few people will be driven out of work because it's simply getting too expensive to live in filthy ripp off britain.

I'm not in favour of boycotting the big petrol stations because BP & the like actualy supply the supermarkets so no matter what we do they are winners.

I think we need to think very carefuly about the way we want to attack this problem, personaly I think that untill demand comes down for fuel & that can only happen when we start to use our cars less.

I have stopped all un necessary journeys now, car share to work to save fueal & cut back on the actual amount of fuel I need.

I think that Car sharing is the best way forward, I think I may even take to cycling into work in the summer to really cut down on fuel.

I know that a fair amount of people simply cannot do that.

We can all moan as much as we like, it's time to stop the moaning and get some positive thinking going on how we can tackle it, unless we do then were gonna have to shut up & just pay what ever they want.

The US Boycotts and gets results.
The UK need to get some nutz and boycott petrol until it has been knocked back down to a sensible proce again.

Not just 2p off for a day then back p 6p

About time the public showed the goverment they are not happy with the current dictatorship running this country.

Stewart (277) - What a narrow minded and bigotted thing to say! Would you be happy to walk or cycle 10-20 miles each way to work? How long would it take you? Do you have a family to support and get ready before you go?

You are really missing the point - the people here need to use their vehicles because they travel large distances. There is no decent public transport available for their journeys. Perhaps you are fortunate to live in a large city like London, Birmingham, Manchester, etc where their infrastructure is superior and public transport is available, but spare a thought for those who don't have that luxury. Most people use their vehicles out of necessity and not because they don't want to get off their "fat lazy backsides and cycle or walk".

I commend the idea of reducing the amount of cars on the road, emissions, etc, but needs must, as they say. I wouldn't like to guess how long it would take to walk 10 or 20 miles each way - particularly if you have a family to get ready before you leave.

Try to consider every opinion, comment and person before jumping on the "green" bandwagon!

Fantastic news! It means people will have to get off their fat lazy backsides and cycle or walk. We will be able to enjoy clean, fresh air and it will be a positive step to better health, less obesity and lower NHS costs.

They say that they are listening to the Public [NOT] and todays Local Elections Results must be screaming in their ears, that we will not tolerate this escalation of fuel prices by applying more tax.

This result is not just about the 10p tax cop out its about the way they fail to understand the Electorate.

Cap fuel duty at it's current level, and cap VAT on fuel at a maximum £1 per Litre.

The price paid per Litre at over £1 should be free of Value Added Tax.

The Government have already made excess from VAT levels since December 2007.

At least then any further pump price increases should only reflect the price of oil and all other costs to deliver fuel to the pump ...

NO further VAT on any increases.

Does this Government think it can expect to benefit from additional fuel costs without end?

Road tax is already going up for those of us who already own vehicles which fall into the additional banding system.

We can't all afford to exchange our current vehicles for newer zero rated or lower road tax models, and some may require the larger type of vehicle anyway.

Don't even think of adding 2p fuel duty plus VAT in October Mr Darling.

As we all know the high percentage tax take on petrol and diesel at present is unsustainable.

The current Government have lost the plot ... Just keep on taxing fuel ... adding to alreading rocketing inflation

(Current inflation figures of 2.5% are an absolute joke).

Just keep pushing up taxes, the people of the UK will reward the current Brown Government at the END of your very short term in office.

When most are out of office and not supplied with vehicles or an expense A/C and have to pay for fuel / transport / food costs from their own pocket.

See how they manage then!

Well,
we said it all before we british let them get away with everything, we are an easy ride, just look at what's around you low wages and illegal imagrants neeed i say more.

Looks like im gonna have to invent a water car i think.

A full scale uk wide "abandon the pumps" protest is required urgently.

INSTEAD OF MOANING LETS ACT BUT FOR LONGER - BRING ON THE BLOCKADES IM UP FOR IT!!!!
Im thinking of setting up a protest website to present to 10, Downing st, london. anyone interested let me know on this site.

Let's get the media involved, i,e Watchdog, the sun, the mirror and the like. And set up a website purely about these rip off prices.
The thing is the wages of our jobs don't go up. Young people don't stand a chance. Another point is the Tax for older cars what another rip off......

As a civil servant with below inflation pay rises year after year, I am struggling to pay for the cost of my commute to work and would like to mention the following.

In terms of simple economics, the demand for petrol is considered to be 'price in-elastic'. What that means is that as the price increases, only a small percentage of people will reduce their consumption. The reason being that fuel is not a luxury item for the vast majority of the population but is considered an essential commodity that is ‘needed’ regardless of the price. The Government/Treasury knows this fact and exploits it for profit as does any organisation/individual selling a commodity in high demand.

Our Government should be reducing the Fuel Duty to offset the increased price of crude oil and thus maintain constant petrol prices at the pumps.

There is only a minimal environmental gain from a Fuel Duty and that benefit is offset by increased congestion and the rise in inflation that we can soon expect with the Haulage industry being slowly brought to its knees. Increased haulage costs will be passed onto their customers who in turn will pass the cost onto their consumers – us!

Fuel duty is yet another way in which our government extorts its citizens.
Our government has forgotten a long time ago that it exists to serve the General Public. As citizens, we are not here to pay for the furnishings of their second homes and their ridiculous allowances. I’m well aware that any such savings would not offset the fuel rise in any way shape of form. It is nothing more than an example of how our government ‘wastes’ the money ‘procured’ from its citizens.

P.S. Has anyone tried to argue that the Fuel Duty is a breach of our Human Rights? These ‘Rights’ are exploited by many people in the most scandalous of situations/scenarios; is there a clever lawyer out there who drives a car that could set the EU onto our Government concerning the consequences of their Fuel Taxation Policy on its citizens?

Yes Peak Oil, I do get it! Demand will outstrip supply etc, etc, etc. You don't have to tell me twice.

Did anyone else see Shell and BP's profit announcement in the newspapers today? First quarter profits of £7 billion each - just for 3 months not a year. Granted some of this must fund seeking ways of keeping up with demand, but £7 billion in 3 months, say £28 billion in a year???????

What do you think we are - no sorry, you know we are - suckers! We keep paying because we need to not because we want to. Do you think we want to keep lining the pockets of these greedy companies? I think we all do our bit for the environment, food miles, etc, but we do have to work and to do that most of us need our transport.

The tax should be reduced and not increased. Global warming is the biggest con yet and is not fully supported by science. It is simply a government ruse to rip us off even more than we already are

How ridiculous is this country going with these prices, MR Darling you MUST LOWER petrol prices

I am so pleased that I am not the only person in this country feeling outraged by the ever increasing cost of petrol - it has been so comforting to read everybody else's e-mails but unfortunately for all of our outpourings the b......s that govern us couldn't care less! I live in a rural area it is 8 miles to the nearest shop and my place of work, I have to use a car as our village has had its hear ripped out since the shop and post office had to close. The bus service is non existant and the only means of heating our home is OIL. Petrol costs are really frightening but what is even more scary is the cost of heating oil. Since moving here 6 years ago the cost per litre has risen from 12p to 50p+. Try doing without your heating in the winter especially when you live in the North West (Peak District) where you still get proper winters!

We all need to rise up and take to the streets and make the b........government notice that we have had enough of living like serfs, where we have no say or power and our masters rip us off with ever increasing taxes!! Enough is enough.

It's about time we should call time on the greed of many Gulf Arab nations. Many men in these nations are already fat and bloated and want more oil revenues so they can buy yet another wife, while in other parts of the world, people are starving.

If we had a proper government that cared for the public it would act as follows:
1. Significantly reduce fuel duty to help the economy.
2. Super tax oil companies to make up the shortfall.

i hope labour get what they deserve at the next election they treat us like mugs maybe they will look like mugs

People PLEASE wake up and smell the coffee. At the moment fuel prices are going up by a penny per litre every 4 or 5 days
and a penny is hardly noticible but if fuel costs went up on a monthly basis by 10 pence a litre perhaps then all these idiots who claim it's nothing to do with the government would maybe just maybe realise that every 10 pence increase would give the government a further 7 pence per litre in taxes.Come on people work it out. In October last year when fuel was 90 pence per litre the government got 63 pence per litre in taxes but now diesel averages £1.20 per litre so the government get 84 pence per litre in taxes so lobby your MP to have a FUEL DUTY REGULATOR put in place whereby the government get a set amount of tax per litre not the crazy system we have now after all they were happy to take 63 pence per litre in October if they were only taking that now our fuel would be approx 95 pence per litre for petrol and £1.00 per litre for diesel. Stop blaming the oil companies or the world oil prices when the fault actually lies with the extortionate taxes we pay to the government.

Voting Labour or Tory will result in higher prices in petrol, I dont think any of the parties are going to reduce the cost of fuel, after all motorists are their main income, I say scrap the government. we should remind them that they work for US, not the other way round. WE DECIDE whos in power, not them. I'm never votiing Labout or Tory again. ALL MP's are liars, fact, if one of them said they would half the cost of petrol to get elected, after they did, it would go up. GOVERNMENT BEWARE, you wont have to worry about terrorists from outside the UK, keep putting the price of petrol up, and you'll have every motorist after you.

The problem with demanding lower fuel prices is that people are still buying gas-guzzling vehicles like high end saloons, Tonka-Toy Pickups and other 4WD's with engines of 3 litres and above. As long as this is so government simply wont believe there is any need to help private motorists and the bulk of us with human size cars will continue to suffer.

During the 1973 oil crisis cars above 1600 cc were taken off the road or regarded as unsaleable white elephants. Some are still being found in barns and garages today! Against that history we will have difficulty convincing any minister or civil servant with access to SMMT sales figures.

Until sales of these things slow down or stop Government will keep taking the money for their mates in the banking industry whose short-sighted greed led to Northern Rock and sadly will lead to others and we will be the ones paying for it all.

the 2p fuel duty increase? with the 20p increase on the forecourt's in my area (and I presume yours too!) over the last 6 month's. He has managed to obtain an approximate 10p increase... So, why bother with the 2p???

Here's my advise... If your concerned with the current economic climate - stop stifling it with extortionate fuel prices and let us do what we do best by add to the economy. At this rate we'll be out of business in 6 month's time.

But not to worry, they'll be laughing all the way to the Northern Rock! What a shambles - another gamble with our money...

Oh well, maybe we can all move to Poland, I here there looking for workers.

259 - Thanks for your comments. Fortunately, there are a growing number of us who can see the bigger picture.

Marion - You still don't get it do you?

Globally, we have reached or are about to reach a point where the demand for crude oil and natural gas for that matter will outstrip supply.

No if's. No but's. FACT!

No oil company or government can replace these finite resources that were kindly provided by nature millions of years ago. It's geologically impossible.

As I keep pointing out, the time is now to start thinking about and making changes to the way you live so your life is not so oil-centered. Remember that a lack of oil extends far beyond just not being able to drive your car - so many other products, services and industries are based on oil.

Nature doesn't care if you 'need to work to pay your bills and need your car to get to work'.

Start preparing for a life of austerity. NOW!

Find local employment. Reduce your debts. Reduce your fuel consumption. Grow your own vegetables or buy from local suppliers. Exercise regularly. Insulate your home. Help your family, friends and colleagues to understand the implications of Peak Oil.

I am furious, sick of this, retired, disabled, single-parent with 21 kids under the age of 10, really need to drive 50 miles to my job, paid ten pence more than last week, something must be done (but not if i have to do anything too difficult like think about it) .... blah, blah, blah.

Well tough sheeet you sheeple! Peak Oil's comments are correct, oil prices are only going to increase and they will rocket as we are approaching the end of the Oil Age. Geology means that the amount of oil extracted will soon start to go down and will continue to decline for ever regardless of the consequences. Oil will not stop tomorrow but the amount available will decline. Oil has to be discovered before it can be extracted and the amount of oil being discovered has been declining since 1965 so we are running down our "stocks". If I could include some graphs it would be easier to show this.

Oil is still far too cheap, coffee costs £2 per half litre at starbucks etc. The energy in one barrel of oil is the same as twelve people working for one year, so how much is that worth?

No government can do anything about Peak Oil but no politician wants to give you the bad news since they know you only vote for anyone who promises you an easy life and ever improving standard of life. Unfortunately unless proper planning is done right now we will have chaos and will become a third world country. I know this government are !*!*! but even so there is still a long way to fall. Just to make it even worse natural gas has also peaked, that's why gas prices are going up and will keep going up. Our own North Sea oil and gas peaked years ago and are declining year on year, so we have to import more and more. We are at the end of the pipeline and not a high priority.

So what can we do?
Well blockades will just cause more problems for this country, maybe Gordon Clown will U-turn again and cut a couple of pence from the tax. You can see even when the budget increase has been delayed until October prices are increasing. As i write this the strikers at Grangemouth have shut down the oil refinery and oil has reached a new all time high of over $120. Panic buying will cause shortages so no help for any of us there.

Not buying from Esso or Tesco or xyz - this will have no effect because oil is "pooled". In fact we are just about at the point where there is not enough to go round worldwide so the oil will just go to somewhere or someone else.

Reduce taxes - this will only cause demand to increase and so oil prices will increase in turn. This is the reason that the USA uses 25% of the world's oil with less than 5% of the population, it's so cheap people want huge cars to mostly move one person around great distances. Anyway the taxes would have to be made up from somewhere else and it's not going to happen.

So what can we do?
Realise that cars and driving miles to work will soon be history.
Realise that cheap flights will soon be history, look at the airlines going broke all over the world already.
Contact your favourite MP and councillor and demand that action is taken to reduce our dependence on oil and gas no matter how difficult.

We need:
A big improvement in public transport. France is introducing light rail into all towns.
A return of electric trams or trolleybuses. Electrify all rail – do not order new diesel engines.
A big improvement in the insulation of buildings as much energy is used to heat buildings and lots of the heat is wasted.
An immediate ban on sales of gas-guzzlers so that even the rich can't avoid this.
Impose a 55mph/90kmh speed limit.
Simplify planning permission for renewable generators and encourage renewable generators with a feed-in tariff like Germany.
For all new building ensure they are fully self sufficient for heating, e.g. insulated to German “PassivHaus” standards.
Apply a tax on electrical devices over their working life that is equal to the cost of offsetting the electricity/CO2 down to the level of A+ or A performing devices. This will encourage people to buy A class devices since now people often tend to just look at the initial price and others who have no interest in the running costs just the up-front costs e.g. landlords, builders.
Make all consumer goods have a 20 year life span and built to be easily repaired not thrown away.

I have lots more ideas but we all need to take action and responsibility.
Think if the future of all human civilisation depended on me, what would I do, how would I be?

Best hopes for a sustainable future - because it's the only long term future.
tonyw

why cant the goverment take an equal amount of money per litre of fuel rather than a percentage, at least then we would understand that the increase was because of raw price rather than the government profiting all the time.

Peak Oil's comments are true.

Few people on this forum seem to be able to grasp the real issue...Peak Oil IS the greatest crisis the planet has ever faced. This is FACT not theory.

Hidden behind the current Climate Change mantra is not just a theory but a fact rooted in common sense ,based on the limited resources of our planet. The media haven't yet grasped the concept, probably because we are so used to having an endless supply of oil.

FACTS:

- There will come a point where demand exceeds production as existing and potential resources are depleted.

- EVERYTHING we consume and all our lives are based upon oil consumption.

- There is no viable alternative to Oil. The Government have NOT addressed the issue. Indeed, the Stern Report on Climate Change made false assumptions about the availability and price of oil.

We have/or are about to reach PEAK OIL. It's really not a difficult concept to understand.

Whilst I don't agree that boycotting fuel would help the situation, the Government can be accused of not providing a strategy or an assessment of Peak Oil.

The only debate surrounding Peak Oil is WHEN it will take place and the exact consequences.

Enjoy your freedom while you can...

So then !!!!

We have yet another crisis in looming and the rifinery is shutting down, which is causing a petrol shortage and people are panic buying, which will only makes things worse still....

My local Texaco garage has increased it;s price twice this week from £107.9 on Monday to £108.9 on Wednesday and today Friday to £109.9 I even saw one garage charging £120.9 on normal unleaded locally.

Why is it these thieving so and so's have the gaull to profiteer like this as soon as there is a supply problem, the French would'nt put up with so why do we here in Blighty

I had a shall we say discussion with my local garage about this and they claim thats what they are being charged so thats what the price is to the end user,

I'm sick to death of this, and I've today had a reply from No;10 about a petition i signed asking for the fuel duty to be reduced to european levels and all i got was a load of why and where fores, but no real answer, from Mr Brown..... Why was i even expecting one really.

What a load of cr*p

I won't be voting labour but didn't last time but what's the alternative we'll get screwed by whom ever is in the seat of power like always....

i will never vote labour in my life again. we are tax on everything by the back door. vat etc on everything extra tax here. and when are we car driver going to wake up and just let them put up road tax look at the mess of our roads. and just let them keep on putting up the price of petrol. remember most of the petrol price goes to the tax man. if that was america or france they wound not sit back and do nothing.