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Let me get this right. Taxpayers money is being used to bail out all the greedy banks who have been fleecing us for years! And now because it's all our fault taxpayers money is to be used to prop us up through this recession. Greed and mis-management have brought us to this sorry state of affairs and it looks like we, and our children will be paying for it for a long time! I think it time for us to follow our Polish friends and get out of this country now! Everyone abroad seems to have a better standard of living, better health care and less taxation than us. This government are nothing but a bunch of shysters and con artists. I was considering switching to LPG, but knowing the government as I do it wouldn't be long before they tax that to the hilt the same as they did with diesel! Roll on the election, if I'm still here that is.

Another greedy move,we now have the most expensine diesel in the world,this is the main reason why we have hgv"s from all over europe using our roads .When will the goverment open their eyes to this and assist british hauliers .

When oh when are this Goverment switch onto public opinion. Rises in fuel equates to rises in prices due to increased transport costs

This is exactly what I have come to expect from the Labour government, this is exactly the same as any other period where labour have been in power. They have got us into such a mess that they don't know which way is up! I wouldn't object to fuel prices being as they are if they scrapped road tax and put it on fuel - this would be a fair proportionate scale of payment and would mean that everyone would have to pay it, but instead the government think it is a better idea to pay for detector cameras, computer systems, staff etc to try to find those avoiding payment of road tax!

We NEED our cars in order to work and keep the economy running and yet this completely inept government seem to want to penalise us in any way they can for doing so.

Brown made the mess in his time as chancellor, and Darling is only making things worse...

And still they increase benefits. Cut the benefits given to the idle, cut the benefits to immigrant's. Stop paying them child benefit to send back to their own countries, for children allegedly living in their home land.
Stop fighting two pointless wars costing billions.
Then with a competent Government, we may genuinely be able to have lower taxes.

Typical.... in one hand and out the other. I guess it was a bit much to expect the prices to remain lower for too long. They had to claw it back in the end didn't they! How come it is always the motorist that gets hit the hardest. The Government are forever campaigning against smoking and alcohol so why not put the extra charges on cigarettes and alcohol? Maybe too many of them would be worse off?

Help to increase spending?
Is it just me, or does anyone else believe that the same people who are being asked to spend the VAT cut on consumer goods are the very same people who instead will have to spend that same 2p on petrol? Not much help when retailers will not actually be passing the rate cut onto the public anyway - they are already working on 20% discounts! How much will this actually add to the costs of running a business - to whom the VAT rate is insignificant in the main? So again this will negate any VAT rate cut? Maybe prices will have to actually increase as a result of this? I am not the worlds brightest individual but it does all seem as if the politicains are assuming the public to be inumerate? I really do not understand how Mr Darling appears to have less elementary mathematical ability than my 5 year old nephew?

The government should not put the price of fuel up - as everyone knows, when fuel goes up, everything goes up, where is the common sense in this?

I love this retarded government. They love taxing the British motorist. I mean, we pay road TAX which includes value added TAX, the price of petrol has a ridiculous amount of duty TAX followed by even more value added TAX.
Sometimes, there are even congestion TAX in certain areas of the country.

Why use the motorist to get the country out of the financial problems that the government caused?

Other countries don't pay half as much as we do, so why should we?

How stupid is this? Cutting VAT to make goods cheaper, then raising fuel bills to make them more expensive? And diesel is the fuel of transportation for most goods, why is it so much more expensive than petrol? This government is determined to destroy what's left of the economy just in time for them to be laughed out of office.

Why has this not received more publicity? The 2p should either be left for the 13 months or better still only be put in for the period until VAT rises again. In fact better still we should get the same advantage and not have 2p for the 13 months and when VAT goes back up it goes back up equally on everything!

Sadly and yet once again the chancellor like the former one have no thoughts for the working man at all.

The VAT reduction will cost more to implement than it will save anyone.

There is nothing that will help the working man of any note. What will happen is that we will pay tenfold for what he has given away.

Mobility is the key to a successful economy, both for goods and people. After recently allowing above-inflation public transport price increases we now have a government increasing private transport costs, whilst at the same time reducing VAT, which will mainly benefit overseas manufacturers of all the goods we now have to import becuase our manufacturing industry was killed off by similar shortsighted government actions in the past.

They have not got a clue all this will do when VAT rises is throw us into a new recession, fantastic!

I thought 'Darling' was going to help businesses - this tax rise is the complete opposite. Doesn't he understand that every single business needs fuel in one way or another and putting up the tax puts up their costs, which in turn hinders them! Doh!
If he had to budget in a normal household, like most of the country do, he would understand economics better.

our dear Alistair and Gordon have gone totally down the wrong road. The reduction in VAT will have NO EFFECT WHATEVER in persuading the public to rush out and start buying. There should therefore have been NO NEED to pay for such a daft change - and to clobber the motorist, yet again, is typical of this Government. The motorist is seen as an "easy target". When will it end?! Perhaps it is time for all motoring related organisations to become MUCH more VOCAL in their condemnation of the "easy target syndrome".

There was always going to be a 'stealth' way of offsetting the reduction in VAT to 15%. Its clear that the government have done this in order to try and increase consumer spending and in turn hit the motorists with the additional tax because its unavoidable to them. The government know this and have taken advantage of the 'credit crunch' situation. In reality, I don't believe the vat reduction will have any true benefit, especially when you calculate the types of savings people make on products.

Its about time for a change in Governement - its the only things that would stirr things up enough for decent change.

why do we moan about petrol ??? they dont listen, they just fob us off with this and that. with the way things are now days petrol will only get higher and higher. we cant stop the price of petrol going up (well we might put a slight halt on it going up for afew months). we could say stop people sneaking into our country stop sending our troops to war etc etc etc to save money so petrol would be cheaper but look this is real life the goverment know they can make big money from us drivers. and thats a fact of life. I DONT LIKE IT BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY WHATS THE POINT IN JUST MOANING ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT ISNT GONNA CHANGE ANYTHING. !!!!

Does anyone believe this government is on the side of the people? I just got back from Thailand where they complain that petrol has risen to 41p! Ok so it may not be the worlds greatest economy but at least costs are low in ALL sectors.
One idea from Thailand:Use Motorway billboard advertising to pay for roads, the result actually can enhance the view! This could reduce fuel and road tax !
The motorists have subsidised the country enough, and it is time cheaper transport costs were used to grow the economy (including greener alternatives).
Vote them out!

What is the point in bringing down VAT to kick start the economy and encourage people to spend when tax on fuel is being increased? Its not rocket science to realise that the increased transportation costs will be passed onto the consumer, nulifying any incentive the Chancellor hopes to give the public to buy.

And what happens when the VAT levels revert to 17.5%? Will he reduce the tax on fuel??? I don't think so! We'll just be clobbered with a double whammy.

Then to top the lot he's putting the country so deep in debt that we'll still be repaying the money long after I'm dead and gone.

It's all very well saying use more public transport but if like me you live in a rural area, there is no option but to drive. Public transport is non existent! The wages are low but cost of living high so any increase hits us hard-the government has forgotton about us!!!

Quite a clever move.

They obviously believe oil prices will remain low so they hope we will become desensitised to this in time.

I dont like being desensitised!

Rob Peter to pay Paul - He giveth he taketh. Simple.

Whole world don't pay road tax, because that includes in petrol prices, why we shoud pay triple and it rises????

Its amazing what politicians can justify with a smile on their faces. Having got us into this mess the selfsame people now become self-proclaimed Saviours. There's been no investment in accessible public transport and the motorist is continually milked to make good the errors of judgement of the Darlings of capitalist-socialism. I shall be glad to see the back of them.

they say they are trying to bring down the cost of living etc and put the cost of transport up again,once again it's the working class who get it in the neck

What else do you expect from this government - they have been doing this since they first came into power - give on one hand - take away (more) with the other

Who said Labour wasn't a Tax and Spend government?

they are only doing it to line there own pockets making out that they want to help us but in the long run they are helping there own pocket bring them down to our level and see how they cope

This government have always targeted the motorist so, whats new.
If you drive any vehicle for business or pleasure it is necessary for Labour to go at the next election but what will the Conservatives do if they get into government, perhaps the same.

Little is spent on roads to improve traffic flow or make conditions safer.

With buses and trains becoming too expensive with ever increasing profits the government support their price increases by increasing motorists costs. So, no help in this Pre-Budget for anyone who has to travel. It is an attack on working people now and much more in the future.

The AA and RAC should be shouting their heads off about this on behalf of motorist but we hear very little.

The goverment has no idea of how people are struggling,
Food and utility bills are expensive and have no VAT or a reduced rate.
These issues need to be addressed not a 2.5% cut is vat that will
only benefit retailers who are making good profit (Tesco)
They need to get the priorities right for long term stability.

AT LEAST IN THE OLD DAYS THE COWBOYS WORE FUNNY HATS SO THEY WERE EASILY RECOGNISED!

Once again the motorist is being penalised. Diesel remains at the highest premium to petrol. It is typical of this government to "slip in" an increase when we are looking elsewhere. The next election cannot come too soon.

If this was meant to be tax neutral, why not put fuel duty up by just 1.5p? Oh of course ,this has allowed them to grab that money that they've been trying to get for the last 3 years.

Why hasn't he increased the duty on petrol moreso than eco-friendly diesel? Probably because he and all of his mates have big engined petrol cars.

There are only two ways the government knows how to raise funds- stealing and borrowing. Now that the banks are empty what next. Maybe they do not envisage another term in government and want somebody else to sort their mess out.
Congestion charge and fuel duty.
If we all atopped using our vehicles the system couldn't even cope with 5% increase in public transport use. Won't be long before we pay to visit every town centre.. Can't wait...

20 million motorists descending on Downing Street would be better!

it is obvious the money has to come from some where to bail out the country
the motorist is an easy target.