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chuck the goverment out , and stop the present idiots playing around v.a.t.reduction i dont think so.petrol back on it's upward spiral , nonsense .

Hypocrites! 2.5% (VAT) off goods including fuel is such a small amount, it will have little effect. 2p on fuel duty is such a small amount and will have little effect. People need to help themselves by having correctly inflated tyres and adopt an eco friendly way af driving. You will then save between 6% and 15% off your fuel cost. During the summer when fuel prices were high, people were driving less and when they did drive, they drove slower. Maybe this attitude should be the norm.

Alan Greenspan propping up George Bush and Gordon Brown with his 'Prudence' of taxing and spending like there is no tomorrow are the ones who got the world into this mess so how the hell could they possible get us out when they have no idea how money and the economy work.
We have MPs who have signed everything away to the un-elected in Europe making themselves effectively redundant and yet they put their worthless snouts ever deeper into the trough of money raised from taxes from us the workers and treat them selves to it as though it was their own money.
Sadly it is a case of those in power treating the workers with total disdain and contempt.
Now they have created a deep red hole of debt that will take possible at the very least 75 years before we could be clear of this horrendous debt.
They should do the decent thing and fall on their swords and take that duplicitous creature Mandleson with them.

Bring on the election so we can vote out this incompitant, money grabbing,self serving,noses in the trough,lieng good for nothing government,just another example of the labour party being completely out of touch with the man in the street.
I use LPG on 1 of my cars,and will be getting my other car done, soon as I can afford the cost?.

Lies, damn lies and the Labour Government..... How long ago was Brown saying Britain is in a strong position to meet the downturn... What a mess this good country is in.... Lets face it as long as they are in power and for decades after, we'll be paying for their incompetence.... I notice the John Lewis list is still going stron, one retailer that will benefit from this Government...!!

Bring on the next election 'darling' lets see if you survive then....

10 years of boom, no savings, no future. 1 month of bust, we're bankrupt, totally screwed for next 10 years. If they were the board of a company they'd be out for incompetance.

Unbelievable. Policy on the hoof. "no more return to boom and bust" eh gordon?

It seems as though the motorist is an easy target, if anything has to go up its either fuil or tax

One word - Disgusted

It is al just to hit the poorer paid, I am a carer looking after my 94 year old Father, I live almost 30 miles away, I travel once a week in my car thats all I can afford the other two times I take the bus my journey takes 40 minutes by car it takes 2.5 hours by bus if they run on time, thats 1 hour 20 minutes travelling by car both ways plenty of time to spend with my Dad, 5 hours on 3 different buses each way, 6 buses total, much less time to spend helping my Dad, I have given up my job so I can help him, so we live on a single income but are just above the tax credits as there is only two of us, but nothing anywhere is done to help us, we are trying to work and struggle along on our own but this lot do all they can to put as many obstacles in our way as possible, just as fuel was looking almost affordable for the nessary things again off it goes out of our reach, when are you going to help those that are trying to help themselves look after others and don't have children?
Lesley

The world is in a mess due in general to greedy financial services businesss and it is the vast majority who have to suffer - the only saving grace is that my modest car returns a reasonable mpg compared to theirs

What a surprise!!! Labour has always been the party of "let's borrow as much as we can while we're in power and leave the next party in power to sort out the mess".

i live in a rural area where you need a car to go to work. public transport is not very good. jobs are far and few between, so to better yourself career wise you have to look towards a major town, but with the fuel prices you cant afford too.

The country is in a difficult position financially. This situation is NOT the fault of the current Labour government despite contrary claims by the Conservatives. It is the result of ludicrous lending and subsequent passing on of hopeless loans by the American financial institutions. The Chancellor and Prime Minister have led the world in the fight against financial collapse and we should NOT be wingeing about the present change in the mix of tax applied to fuel. The actual change in price at the pumps should be zero though the petrol companies will no doubt use dubious tactics to keep the price we pay as high as possible. The price of oil has dropped pretty much linearly by about 20 dollars per barrel per month since July 2008 to todays date. We should be looking more closely at what the petrol suppliers are doing about price rather than criticising our Government. The rest of the world are lagging behind Gorden Brown and Alistair Darling - I for one hope they catch up soon.

Does the Government realise that it actually needs us motorists and should be doing more to keep us driving? I work in the centre of Manchester, but live 11 miles outside. We will soon have the opportunity to vote for the introduction of a Congestion Charge. This means that commuters, like myself, will have the privilege to pay an extra £5 per day to travel to work. Extra revenue for the Government in addition to the car tax, fuel duty, insurance premium tax, VAT, etc etc we already contribute.
The alternative is to use pubic transport. Fine, but if all motorists used this, not only would it be even more congested than it is now, all the revenue the Government receives as mentioned above will be lost. In addition, there is no VAT on public transport costs, so nothing to be gained there!

we are part of the E.U. -or are we not: Then why don't Brussells state that ALL member states are not allowed to charge more than X% tax on fuels, as we all need some sort of fuel for basic survival - whether itbe coal, gas or oil; it has to be transported from a to b. Then the workers need to be transported - that takes fuel to make an engine function. Therefore everyone gets kicked in the teeth except polititions who claim it on EXPENSES and we end up paying fuel tax TWICE - OURS AND THEIRS, so people WAKE UP and use yer brain before putting that X on yer ballot paper next time.

Fuel is taxed more than twice, as it comes out of the North Sea it is taxed at 50% before any of the other taxes are added!

Bloody typical of this Labour Government. Give with one hand and take with the other.

Exactly what one would expect from our delightful government!

I have lived and worked in both France and Germany. I know that the population of both these countries would not tolerate such mis-management and the governement would be ousted in quick time! Not only is this government financially bankrupting the country, they themselves are morally bankrupt. I drive a diesel car and cannot for the life of me understand why there is such a price gap between petrol and diesel??

It's always the motorists, smokers and drinkers that get it in the neck, and we're the ones already paying most of our wages into this system. It about time we got something good back from it!!

Yet more tinkering by a Government (so-called) that has completely lost the plot. Fuel cost is a major contributor to the cost of everything else, so only the twisted logic of G Brown could claim to be stimulating the economy while simultaneously making sure that prices remain high. We'll all be paying for his incompetence long after he has started drawing his fat, index-linked pension, paid for by you and me, while our own pensions go down the pan.

Give with one hand & take with another.... Another act of robbery against the British public. Just when you think things are slightly improving we are hit with a 'stealth tax' because they know the motorist is an easy target, Im disgusted so please let your voices be heard!!!

Well Bye bye Labour - you've done nothing for me except tax, tax and tax me to the hilt and now I need help to get to work to pay my taxes - what do you do tax me again. Well as far as I'm concerned I sick and tired of funding your studipity and come the next election I more than happy to vote that makes one of your representative redundant.

This Goverment has like every Labour goverment now plunged this country into another 10 year low, Browns comments on Boom and Bust now eradicated are like him " A Joke " he was the chancellor now he is the PM and he alone is resposible for selling off, borrowing the worlds largest debt and bringing " Famin and Fast " to the UK, Tax imposition one after another thats all he knows, to run a country not a clue, the goverment has finally brought this country to its knees. One thing you can all be sure of though Brown and his cronies have got their inflated Pensions sorted out.
I suggest every adult in the country send Brown a " White Feather " .

Why always hit at the motorist? I can barely afford to run a car at the moment far less if they put up the price of petrol again! Cheers Gordon, Darling.

Same old story... motorists and companies who rely on using vehicles pick up the bill!

I cant believe that we have known for st we were heading into recession and the government did nothing about it. How will a vat cut help now? I certainly will not consider buying a television or a new wardrobe of clothes because it will be £10-£20 cheaper!!! However like most I have to pay the fuel whatever the cost to carry on working to put essential food on the table. Christmas has been cancelled this year, the government has sealed that fate, lets hope that they themseves dont go bankrupt, like a lot of British industry is destined to do.

This should come as no surprise to anyone. When they first came to power in '97 the first thing Gordon Brown did was ti increase the tax on fuel by 5p! Transport is a soft target and fuel tax is similar to a 'ransom strip' everyone needs fuel, there is northing that will not be effected or subject to some part of fuel tax.

Typical of this goverment and their sly taxes. They say they want to help people and small businesses but then put up tax again on fuel.

They couldn't run the proverbial .... .. in a brewery.

Get rid of Labour is all I have to say. they're taking the P***s , trouble is the tories are just as bad, we need a new party in there............dunno who tho' !

If the government was really interested in putting money in peoples pockets to 'kick start' the economy it would be logical to reduce the cost of a commodity most people have to spend on each week - petrol and diesel!! Instead with 2p increase per litre we have a hidden tax waiting to pounce later on.

Its a case of give with one hand and take with the other... its all temporary fixes and short term solutions!!

I think there really needs to be an overhaul on the whole system - not just relating to fuel tax.

It stands to reason that if there is less money needed to pay for NHS, immigration etc then tax could be lower.

why do the allways hit the motorist

Just another Labour ploy. When the vat rate goes back up this rise in duty will remain. Yet another stealth tax.

One hand: VAT down 2.5%
Other hand: Fuel tax up 2%; NI contributions to be increased;
Alcohol and tobacco tax increased (neither affect me!) but if THEY get their way and we all stop smoking and drinking - guess who will have to make up the loss in revenue to fund the NHS!!!
Energy prices up and still rising - our direct debits are being increased even though we are personally in credit!

A slight imbalance I fear!! What is new! My only worry is which party could redress the balance? I can see nothing new in any manifesto.

It is just amazing, even now the true punitive (or is it greed...or maybe the corruptive habit of spending other people's money?) streak in Labour is predominant. The modern Robber Barons are as active as ever and the only way to get rid of them is to ensure they go to the political wilderness with that nerdy Brown for a couple of generations. Unfortunately the Hooray Henrys and Alternative Labour, called Lib Dems, are no great replacements!.....Where on earth do we go from here? I think the time has come to leave this island! I despair!

When will this government learn that if you put tax on fuel prices in the shops rise. How is that going to encourage spending.