Your Comments

How can the government give us a long term plan to save the economy? They have got to hold an election in the not to distant future and if they think they'll get in again then they are more deluded than I thought. Hit the motorist and do they really expect that every retailer will be going round knocking the VAT down on all the items in their shops? 22p off a cd - whoopee do. That'll really make a difference to the price of food which is a necessity, whereas the fuel duty rise will put up the price of food. Gordon Brown had the reins of the economy in his hands for 10 years before becoming prime minister and what a mess he passed on to Mr Darling. Give the motorist a break and leave us alone for a change!!!!!!!!!

The motorist didn't see all the decrease in fuel, when the oil barel prices dropped, but as usual we get to pay for anything the Labour government wants to give away.
If they want to increase the duty on fuel take off the road tax, it's not used on our roads, they are in a shocking state, and as we pay tax on fuel anyway isn't taht a fairer way to tax us, not keep hiting us twice?
I think it's time Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling hung up their red boxes and retired, and not to the fat cat House of Lords, give them a spell on the dole and on £59.15 per week like the rest of us/

If the government had just scrapped fuel duty altogether that would've given them enough money to spend spend spend their way out of this mess that they have helped create.

Hit the poor bloody motorised again!!!!! If the gas, electric or water company's did the same ie: bang a price rise equivalant to the VAT the goverment would be up in arms, I just wish there was a offwatch to regulate the goverment.
Talk about the pirates in Somalia - they have nothing on Labour.....

When I read the polls, I can't understand why anyone even considers voting for this lot again. This is just another disaster to add to the list of disasterous decisions this lot have made since they've been in government.
People forget so quickly. -:(

From what it seems to me the whole budget is about confidence a perception that things are going to be alright!

To be honest I sometimes wonder if politicians think we are all stupid. It is very obvious he can't afford to give because they (we) are in so much trouble. I'm trying to behave as normal without panicking but with folk that think it's ok to borrow more to get out of debt it is pretty worring.

It loaths me to say this but perhaps we should all become more French! (That'll put the cat amongst the pigeons!) They don't let their government run their country without telling them what they really feel. After all we vote for the wallies we should try to control them a bit more.

God help the next political party they have got some c@+* to sort out!

I cannot wait until the next General Election when we can rid ourselves of a really dishonest and deceitfful government. Roll on 2010!

I hope they get ditched at the next election....or sooner.

Tax by stealth is their modus operandi, and while the good British public is hit hard, The Guardian jobs pages are full of the kinds of posts in Government dreamt to recruit those no hopers with obscure little- use degrees who are paid well, have bulletproof pensions and who naturally will re-elect Labour in order to keep their pointless jobs. In any other parlance this is a bribe.

Let's all emigrate and (sadly) leave the Country we love, to them, theirs and the hapless dole seekers from overseas.

YET ANOTHER RIP OFF BY THIS GOVERMENT!
Can we not organise the British public to boycote one or other of the major fuel companies every week untill they bring down their own prices?
Just look at the profit Shell reported last week!

Labour never change they can only tax people who work hard for their money or are savers - as a Pensioner with a little savings I am watching them being erroded away by those who do not work, will never work yet manage to spend, spend, spend, their social benefits. Prices will not come down they will stay the same or go higher.

Lets have change of PM Labour always get us in debt.

Yet again a prime example of political smoke and mirrors from a government that is led by a Prime Minister that we didn't even vote for!!!!!

Does anyone else think that all they are doing is making things as bad as possible before losing the next election to the tories, so they can then turn around and slag them off for something they actually created!!!

It's all right saying that tax for high earners is going to be raised, but are we really expected to believe that it is going to help average wage earners like me who have to commute to work.

Thanks Mr Brown/Mr Darling, nice early Christmas present.....I don't think!!!!!

It's a wonder they haven't put up road tax as well - give 'em time!. Nothing is ever given to us, it wouldn't have hurt them to make VAT 10 percent, then perhaps we might notice a difference. What's Value Added Tax all about anyway!. It's all a pile of rubbish if you ask me!.

The Labour Party are only in it for themselves - definitely not you or me! and I can't see the Conservatives would be any better!. They all make promises they break - money grabbing liars - the lot of them!.

Gordon Brown alias " Highway man Turpin "
Has personally been responsible for 80% of the present crisis
his total mismanagement of the economy is nothing short of treason !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and should have been dealt with accordingly ?
NOW HE EXPECTS EVERYBODY BUT HIMSELF TO PAY FOR HIS GROSS MIS MANAGEMENT

Has he was not democratically elected to the post of prime minister,and was too frightened to put it to the vote in case he lost his GOLD PLATED £2,0000000.00 +pension
What a plonker
Best Regards
Tony hardwick

i am a pensioner, i live outside town, i would be housebound if i didnt have my car, i some times go without proper food and dont put my heating on just so i can run my car.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Chancellor Darling has just shown that he believes that the British Public are morons. Why on Earth does he believe that reducing VAT to 15% for 13 months, yet adding 2p per litre to petrol and diesel, on a permanent basis, will make a significant difference to lower income households? VAT reductions may help on white goods and items of real expense, (for those who can afford to buy them,) but, on food, clothes and various other items, especially on anything that is currently zero rated for VAT, the prices are likely to rise as retailers will want to recover the cost of the increased fuel for transporting the goods to their stores. It is time for New Labour to really start to help people who have an inability to earn a significant salary/wage, perhaps through ill health or disability. I believe that, if the Government were to try to live, for 6 months or more, on a low income, in houses/flats that continually require high cost maintenance, living on a minimum wage in order to make ends meet, there would be a seriously significant change in their attitudes. Also, it has to be remembered that, many non ministerial MPs, as well as the actual ministers, claim really significant expenses or have actual expense accouts which means that, in effect, they have a much greater income than they actually declare for tax purposes, as they get their monies back, or, with the expense accounts, they do not even see the actual bill(s) for what they have spent. Make them pay their own expenses out of their own pockets and let us see how quickly they legislate for a pay rise well in excess of the cost of inflation. Get rid of Government perks. Make MPs attend all sessions, as they are supposed to be telling the government the views of the people who elected them and not voting in the way the Government dictates that they should, or as their own consciences dictate. Make this, and all Government(s) realize that it is because of their policies now, and in the past, that this financial situation has arisen requiring such drastic action. The Government should have reduced he prices on petrol and diesel and that should then lead to a better way of living for those on low incomes.

Look forward to your OAP bus passes !

Until motorists start choosing to buy economical vehicles, the cost of fuel isn't high enough.

VAT at 2.5% less won't really make much of a difference to the economic state. That's a whole discount of £2.50 per £100! What's the point?

Whats the matter with the English....if this was France we d all be out in the streets protesting...but NO..we just roll over and have our tummies tickled!

"Far too much self-pity round here. Fuel prices have recently dropped dramatically but I see no mention of that here. Be realistic.

Posted by Roger Rutherford, 25th November 2008 7:30am"

Are you for real? it has come down from it's highest ever level, it is still 20p more than it was a year ago, People in America are up in arms because they pay 30p a litre, Australians pay 42p a litre, so where is the truth in what we are being told about high costs? FACT oil is cheaper now than twelve months ago so why are we paying more than twelve months ago?. because the labour highwayman needs our hard earned cash to give to the other robbing gits, the bankers thats why.
wake up for gods sake.

Here Here i agree fully with the statement this Government does not care for working or middle class people. WHY WHY WHY is Diesel dearer than Petrol. YES lets all make it an issue at the next Elections.

I have to say that whilst I agree with a lot of the comments above re bad goernment, policies, choices etc. etc. can anyone really say that a different party in government would make any realy difference? Sure they may make different policy decisions, take away here, get back there blah de blah but at the end of the day, they are all as bad as each other.

What we really need is for the greedy companies to just say "this year, month, week, or day, we won't make 2 gazillion pounds of profit, instead we will make one gazillion pounds of profit and lower prices instead". Guess that aint gonna happen any time soon is it?

We all hit out at the government when things go wrong but personally I would hit out at the greedy ones that only aim to please their peers ie. the shareholders. What about the consumers? Aren't they supposed to be the focus of a business provider? What difference does it make if it is a petrol/gas/oil company or any other large company, they all put massive profits before anything else. As for oil, don't get me started on that damn hotel launch!! Where did our money go when we bought petrol last? To the government? Yeah sure a hell of a lot of it did but when did the government last spend some $20million on launching a new hotel? At least some of the money we pay goes towards our services.

Get the money they need from the companies, not from the ordinary consumer and limit the profits these people can make, as well as do away
with these obscene bonus packages the rich get. They are rich already, they don't really need that yearly £1mill bonus!

The story from this Labour Government that they are helping people and small business is at its best there calculations are flawed at its worst incompetent!

The increase in fuel duty will hurt the motorist and also increase the cost of transportation of goods. The consumer will have to pay for this increase, Barmy!

Okay...no (effective) reduction in tobacco and alcohol prices, I can live with that, even though I smoke and like a drink now and then, BUT to treat fuel in the same manner is criminal!!

The one area which would have a REAL effect on reducing the cost of virtually everything in the shops, not to mention giving much needed help to our road hauliers, and the government have done nothing.

What a joke.

The one area that would make a difference to everybody is purchase of fuel, and what does he do, tax us again. I have been a labour man all my life, having serious reservations about giving them my vote again.

if the chancellor reduced the tax on fuel by 2% permanently it would be a boost not only to the motorist but to all businesses therefor reducing the price on food and everything that uses transport to supply there goods, helping to bring down the price of any goods bought.

The last time the Labour party were in power for anytime we had galloping inflation and borrowing on gargantuan scales but in the end it is the poor who suffer. I rely on my Disability Living Allowance vehicle to get around and so I am going to be penalised along with many others who are finding the cost of living eating into what small income we have.
The motorists are hit again because we need fuel to get around, we are easy targets all the time.
The labour party is the the party of the ordinary people; Bah Humbug!!!

same old s*** different day. Once again the motorist and general public indirectly, get hit, he will reinstae vat but wont take the 2.5% off of fuel, what a con man . we are an easy target and always be. Seeing as oil refinary blockade is illegal now, how about the country veto's the pump for a few days just to show them we can go without if need be.

When the West'greed for power and good has the dwindling oil supply running out will you still be worrying about 2p a litre?

what as this goverment done for use motorist nothing i have had to stop self employment as fuel costs went throught the roof and was losing money the motorist is the goverment cash cows they need more money lets hit the motorist and it is more expensive to run a diesel vehicle than a petrol prices 89.9 diesel 105.9

Whay else would you expect from a labour government, as said by others another back door tax.

When the authorities put in a transport system that will get me from near my home to near my work at a sensible time and for a sensible price, I will back them all the way and they can do what the hell they want with petrol prices.

Until then, I HAVE to drive in everyday and am getting treated like a cash cow to help get Labour out of the mammoth balls-up they have got our nation into.

And why is Diesel still 15p a litre more than petrol. Help!!!!!!

Its not the tax that is the problem....its the fact that it is almost 16p more expensive to buy diesel now, and I am sure most cars now use this fuel....I thought the goverment were meant to be promoting low carbon....so why has diesel got much more expensive?????????? I think we need to protest this more than anything else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As usual the motorists are penalised always the same this government make you think they are helping you but in reality are only juggling things around plus we will all have to pay it back later at probably a higher rate !!!

ONCE AGAIN THEY HAVE GOT US BY THE "SHORT & CURLYS"

Will the government explain to us why, when we were encouraged to go deisel for environmental purposes, the price of deisel has risen to ridiculous prices above unleaded petrol. Now we are to be it with yet another tax rise on our fuel. As a pensioner living in a very rural area with no alternative transport getting the basics of life (ie. food) is becoming even more expensive. Oil has dropped dramatically in price but this has not been reflected at the pumps so yet again the motorist is being robbed blind by both the oil companies and the government. Kick start the economy - more kick in the teeth for the public.

The Government want us to use "Public Transport" but the train fares are going through the roof, not enough carriages, and overcrowding making it an accident waiting to happen, but they give us the motorists a double whammy, DISGUSTING !! The bottom has dropped out of the Oil prices !! where is our respite, give us something back for all the taxes we pay.Help us to get to work "ON TIME"..