According to the latest Autumn Budget predictions, Chancellor Philip Hammond looks set to further demonise diesel drivers, with new measures to tax vehicles more heavily. The move will be presented in the 22 November Budget announcement. It is being presented as a means of improving air quality, but it seems to be yet another step towards making diesel vehicles untenable for drivers.
New tax
The Chancellor is expected to penalise drivers of diesel vehicles in order to boost initiatives created by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, which were announced in July. The measures are aimed at improving air quality in towns and cities around the country. The punishing new tax is believed to either take the form of a raise in VAT on diesel fuel or a new taxation on diesel vehicles.
The Treasury has already released a statement confirming that the clean air strategy would involve a tax that would treat ‘new diesel cars differently.’ It is yet another penalty being put on diesel drivers in this period of anti-diesel rhetoric, just like the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal that broke back in 2015.
(Credit – DFID)
Falling sales
The sale of new diesel vehicles is already in free fall. Car sales in the UK contracted by 12.2% in October compared to same period in 2016. Diesels have seen a 29.9% decline over the same period.
According to the AA, some 41% of members have diesel vehicles. However, when drivers are asked what their next vehicle will be, the figure drops to just 16%. People are being forced away from diesel as it continues to be demonised in relation to the UK’s air pollution problems.
Meanwhile, the government continues to encourage the use of electric and hybrid vehicles. This segment of the care industry enjoyed sales growth of 36.9% in the 12 months to October 2017. It now represents 5.2% of the total market.
Pressure on diesel drivers
Rumours also abound that the Chancellor may not only increase the tax on diesel cars, but decrease it on petrol cars, which are viewed as less polluting than their diesel counterparts. Such a move would no doubt been seen as yet another kick in the teeth for diesel drivers.
When people are asked, there’s little doubt that most are against the proposed tax increase for diesel vehicles. In a Facebook poll, PetrolPrices asked: Do you think it’s a good idea to tax diesel drivers more to help reduce pollution and invest in low emissions transportation schemes?
Of those who answered, a resounding 81% said “no.” Just 19% of respondents believed that diesel drivers should face more taxation to help deal with the higher emissions from these vehicles.
Unfair measures
The RAC also believes that the proposed measures aren’t the right way to deal with the problem. Chief Engineer David Bizley said that the foundation is concerned particularly about business drivers and those who drive long distances. They often stick with older diesel vehicles because they offer better fuel economy. Increasing tax in a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction could mean owners continue to stick with older, more polluting vehicles because they can’t afford to swap to newer models.
He further added that the irony in all of this is that the new generation of diesel vehicles have had so many improvements from car manufacturers that they are likely to be no more polluting than their petrol counterparts. So, within 12 months, the measures will already be outdated. No doubt the new tax will still remain in force, though.
Rising fuel prices
The measures could come alongside a period of rising fuel prices that make it even harder for drivers to afford to run their vehicles. Experts predict that the price of Brent Crude oil could rise again in November. It’s already up £13 a barrel since the middle of the year. Currently, it’s trading at $63 dollars a barrel, the highest price since June 2015.
This could mean an increase of around 3p per litre for petrol drivers and around 1p per litre for diesel drivers. If the Chancellor adds additional tax onto the cost of diesel fuel, this could make travelling by car this Christmas a very costly experience.
Will the latest financial punishment lead you to ditch your diesel? Or is driving simply becoming more expensive across the board, no matter which vehicle type you opt for? Leave a comment to air your opinions.
Typical ripoff government, tax the man in the street, but don’t tax the ministers for using ‘company vehicles’??? Same every time, hit the workers and retirees………..STINKS
Can I ask what is happening about the diesel trains?
The Gov is spending all the spare rail funding on HS2 so the budget to electrify the lines that diesels run on is being reduced so the trains will carry on running for several years yet.
There’s also buses, coaches, taxis, vans, fire engines, ambulances, most police vehicles, most council vehicles but no one ever mentions them.
And ships and planes, look at the crap that is spweed out of them.
…military vehicles, agricultural vehicles, bulldozers, fork-lifts, excavators, tunneling machines, pumps, generators, tugs, oil-tankers, container shipping…
If anything, they look set to use diesel-electric trains even more due to the shelving/scrapping of some of the scheduled route electrification projects.
They might have a reduced majority but, make no mistake, this is a government who are still doing pretty much what they like, without conscience. Despite the rhetoric, which we are all too familiar with, the usual (often underlying) reason for almost any decision is revenue raising. Just my perspective.
This is what happens in the absence of a robust and viable opposition.
Same old… Rip off the motorists… Easy meat… It’s getting to the point where it feels normal to be turned over by the government… Time for a revolution!
Yes and the disabled, how do they expect pensioners to afford new cars to please this B*****d government.
The main reason why I initially changed from petrol to diesel cars is because at the time of Gordon Brown we were led to believe diesel was cleaner than petrol. Perhaps the Government are now attacking diesel vehicle drivers because the wind has changed direction. To me the Government should not confuse any issues. They have made a good job of doing so though.
I currently drive a more recent diesel vehicle which is an eco version. I find standing in traffic is not polluting the environment whereas the petrol vehicle next to me is doing so, because whilst I am stood in traffic my engine is not running, but the petrol vehicle next to me is. Whilst I understand there are many arguments about pollution near to home I feel there should also be a great deal emphasis on all of the rain forest destruction and the like which is not only taking away wildlife habitats but also taking away the very environment which supports the earth’s existence. Then again mankind will always be the same and act on the very subject they should be addressing early when it is too late
I bought an Eco Ford Kuga exactly a month before all the fuss over diesel blew up. My motoring involves either short journeys to the nearest town (I park in the outskirts – free for 2 hours!) or longish journeys – c.75 miles each way. I don’t go near big cities if I can help it. Greenpeace tried to get me to consider an electric car but that means a stop half way to recharge – if I can find somewhere and can afford the charging time (“Have a coffee” they suggested!) Then I’ll need to stop again for a pee!!! It’s all fine if you can afford a Tesla and the overnight hotel bill – and you live in Norway, where the electricity is FREE!
Instead of political bullying of diesel owners/drivers, get on and (a) develop better batteries/cars, (b) ensure plentiful, quick, cheap and STANDARD recharging points – out of cities as well…!!!!!!!!!! And -get off my back!
Tell Greenpeace to bugger off, and consider the decimation caused to the land, in the actual mining of the battery components!
No decimation of land/sea bed drilling for oil then ??
Why is Kithmo’s comment downvoted? What’s wrong with you people? Destroying the environment is fine for the acquisition of petrol, diesel and coal but not for lithium and cobalt?
Both valid points but now we cannot escape the issue of finite resources. I think this would be better described as we must apply the same standards to mineral mining as we now do to oil extraction.
I am detecting that most people think mineral depletion is ok possibly because it is a new issue. Personally I think people don’t like to consider that mining for battery materials (in common with SMART phone tech) often involves human exploitation.
What do you think decimation means? Frankly I doubt that 90% of the land beat the other 10% to death.
It’s not only Diesels that have idle cut out, most, if not all petrol ones have this facility.
Trouble is, we were ALL betrayed by the conniving motor manufacturers, who basically fiddled the test results.
Don’t recall hearing of any successful prosecutions regarding this.
I was approached by a firm of solicitors with a view to make a claim on VW re emissions. This has been going on for months now and the only people who seem to be benefiting from this are solicitors themselves. I just got the following progress report
The Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, and SEAT NOx Emissions Group Litigation
This email is sent on the joint behalf of Harcus Sinclair UK Limited and Slater and Gordon. It serves a dual purpose: to update you on the progress of your claims; and to inform you of a change in the way your claims will be brought from now on.
As you will remember, the Court was due to hear your renewed application for a Group Litigation Order on 12 and 13 October. Regrettably, this was, again, delayed, and a ‘directions hearing’ has now been listed for 27 November. This hearing is intended to give the parties an opportunity to ask the Court for any directions – instructions – which will allow the claims to progress expediently and efficiently.
Otherwise, progress has been made in a number of areas over the summer. We have finalised a draft Group Litigation Order, draft generic Particulars of Claim, which introduce some further thought beyond that set out in the earlier drafts, and a draft ‘work sharing agreement’ with other firms of solicitors, which, together, govern how your claims will be brought and managed. We have also continued to foster good relations with colleagues elsewhere in Europe, which ought to help keep up the pressure on VW while proceedings here are somewhat stagnant.
You may also remember that, when Damon wrote to you in June, he explained that the Court had heard arguments about a dispute between Harcus Sinclair UK Limited and another firm of solicitors, Your Lawyers Limited, who also act for claimants in claims against Volkswagen. Following that, and after taking instructions from your Claimant Committee, we asked the Court (as part of a separate claim, not connected to your group action against Volkswagen) to precipitate the determination of that dispute. Harcus Sinclair UK Limited took that course, so that your claims could proceed uninterrupted by a dispute between firms of solicitors and so that the dispute did not become a further distraction from the issues in the case against VW.
That collateral dispute has now concluded, albeit unsatisfactorily. The Court has given Harcus Sinclair permission to appeal the decision, which it intends now to do, but an appeal will not, at least in the short term, affect what happens next.
The outcome of the dispute, in brief, is that Harcus Sinclair UK Limited has been prevented from continuing to act for you in your claims against Volkswagen. Slater and Gordon (whom you have all – of course – instructed alongside Harcus Sinclair) is free to continue acting for you, as before, and indeed, the Judge appears to have come to his decision on the assumption that this is what will happen.
In practical terms, you are likely not to notice any difference in the service you receive, other than that the updates you receive will be signed by Jacqueline Young or Gareth Pope of Slater and Gordon. Your claims will be brought, as they would have been, according to the instructions of your Committee. The quality of the service you receive will not decline, and nor will the risks of losing or the costs of bringing the claim increase. The same Counsel team of Oliver Campbell QC and Adam Heppinstall, who have designed the intellectual framework on which the claim is built, will continue to be instructed. And Therium, the funder, will continue to back the claim, as will the insurers.
You do not need to do anything at this stage; Jacqueline Young of Slater and Gordon will write to you following the next hearing on the 27th November to inform you of time frames and next steps. All that remains is for us to thank you for your instructions, and to say that we very much regret that it is necessary for Harcus Sinclair to withdraw.
With best wishes
Harcus Sinclair UK Limited Slater and Gordon
There were prosecutions in USA but not in this country as we would not want to upset Germany would we
diesel does apparently have much lower CO2 emissions than petrol and in the previous decade the call for action on CO2 was deafening. But that isn’t in the news right now, localised air pollution is so…..
So is the answer to increase congestion charges – or introduce them in other cities? Why should the millions of people who don’t go anywhere near city centres be penalised the same? Oh no, of course the biggest outcry would be in London and we can’t have that can we?
Do we all not remember when the congestion charge was set up in London and we were all told that this would quickly and easily resolve the twin problems of traffic congestion and pollution… well that worked didnt it.. NOT!
And of course, here in Manchester, much of the pollution is caused by the Local authority and its traffic calming measures that have worked beyond their wildest dreams… now it takes me 90 mins on average to cover 11 miles to work.
Im tired of being turned over and robbed, if I keep getting screwed then Ill give up working at the hospitals in central Manchester.. and as they area already desperately short on clinical staff it will put more stress on those remaining. But for once I will not be swayed by the old chestnut of “your only harming the patients”… Ill look after me and my own first.
Total and utter con, being an engineer I knew 30 years ago diesel wasn’t the way to go, never owned one, never will.
Whilst I agree with you on most points Ned, but certainly in the Ford range, petrol engined cars also have the eco version, so they also sit with the engine stopped. One problem I have with my 1.6 diesel Focus, the auto stop no longer works. My local garage says that it’s because after a couple of years the battery is no longer capable of reaching the target voltage required for the auto stop to function. Cure for this, pay over £100 for a new battery, which to me seems to defeat the eco side of things. I also believe that the really polluting diesels are those that don’t reach the Euro 5 or 6 standards where particulate filters are fitted, but it seems that all diesels are going to be tarred with the same brush whatever the emissions. I’m retired and the fact that I get over 55 mpg helps me to afford to keep motoring. My partners car, a 1.0 turbo petrol Fiesta constantly returns 43 mpg, that’s a huge difference in fuel costs, and when you consider it, although the engine might be less polluting, the fact that is not as economical probably negates any advantage it may have.
I agree with Charlie- exactly the same.
With regard to Stop-Start; great idea to help motor trade sell starter motors. Just one trip to a workshop renders all savings negated.
2nd hand, diesels are fast becoming an expensive liability. Injectors are not so reliable, EGR valves remain right up there, DPFs needing replacement or a diagnostic regen, clutches with dual mass flywheel issues, turbo failure is hardly unknown and can cause the complete engine to become wrecked in extreme cases. Starter motors have a harder time, also.
Diesel looking a poor choice on the factors it was chosen in the first place.
Diesel is and always has been cheaper to produce the petrol but a few years back the gov decided to push diesel prices up to gain more income. It states in the above that petrol will raise 3p and diesel by 1p and I bet that diesel will raise by 3-4p a litre, Again ripped off.
you are right there it is all about getting more tax and once again the motorist is the soft option it is the rich and big companies they should go after but let’s face it they are the rich and have there fingers in a lot of big companies
It isn’t cheaper to produce and the Government didn’t put the price up!
I agree with Paul, its the same story again and again. For years they sold diesel cars as the kinder alternative to petrol when they knew full well that they had these problems. It would be the same who ever was in government we are the easy targets.
Don’t punish diesel drivers with newer cars from 07 or 08 as these have the Diesel Particulate Filters, I can understand older diesels even tho it was the government who talked people into buying diesel.
Petrol cars don’t get the same economy as diesel so to change to petrol would cost more to run & hybrids cost more to buy.
DPF is at the root of the problem. Makes particles so small as to be ingested through the skin. But first, how about the container ships? One of which annually produces more environmental pollution than all the cars on the planet!
Dean, your remark about DPFs being at the root of any pollution problem caused by diesel engines must surely be nonsense. It is true that very fine particles, say less than 2.5 micron diameter, may pass through a DPF but the filter removes much larger particles so overall reducing the amount of soot ejected into the atmosphere. You appear to suggest that a DPF makes particles get smaller and that they are then emitted. If you know of some science to support your case please enlighten me.
and what about the things overhead, they chuck out tons of the shit !!!
hmm interesting idea. trouble is the GOV has given or rather forced the third runway through at heathrow. environment or taxes? let me guess which way they were thinking when deciding.
Here here, well said. But inept politicians haven’t the brain or wit to tackle that one and motorists are easy meat.
You’ve gotta start somewhere. There are a growing number of alternatives for diesel and petrol cars to reduce local pollution, and it’s cheaper to replace a car than a ship.
What would you suggest replacing a diesel tanker with?
They shouldn’t punish any diesel driver that isn’t buying a new diesel car. THEY made the rules for older cars, so it’s unfair to rest the blame on us because they screwed up.
and the insurance on hybrids is more expensive than a similar diesel.
Ever since the creation of the combustion engine, the ‘decision makers’ have always been looking for ways to squeeze every penny out of those people who make a ‘personal’ use of it, yet they use the same said engine to travel ’10 yards’ & then have the cheek to ‘put it on the expenses’. & Please don’t tell me that it doesn’t go on because IMO it has just gone ‘underground’
Just another tax on easy targets – the motorist, with the state of the roads we should be paying less not more! Plus – a lot of caravanner’s prefer diesel vehicles to tow their units – can’t wait to see the “electric car” that will be able to tow caravans when all diesel & petrol cars are banned from the road.
I agree with you entirely I tow a caravan about several times a year
Im waiting to see who will pay for it because it will have to be some supper vehicle to be able to pull in to some charging station with a caravan on tow for a 2 hr charge they are just brain dead they know we know they are ripping us off
Valg, currently the only electric car that can tow a caravan is the Tesla Model X. But with superior torque, electric vehicles are very (sorry, more) capable of towing.
Stick a 1850 kg twin axle on a Tesla and try to drive 250 miles will take you 5 stops to charge up and thats if you can get straight on a charge point will take you the best part of 2 days to get to your holiday destination
And they start at £62,500, bargain!
And that’s above the £40,000 cut off for free eco road tax
I dont beleive this. Diesel cars are being hit hard yet again. Im really really getting fed up to the back teeth with this shoddy goverment. What fails to be mentioned time and time again is what about all the public transport vehicles, ie LORRYS Your Aeroplanes Your Ships And yes not forgetting the buses that kick out loads of smoke from there diesel engines. But no its always the motorist that gets hit time and time again. Put all the means of public transport together and i bet you a million bucks there the ones that create more harmfull gases in the atmosphere than all the diesel cars put together. So what i want to know is what are the goverment going to do about that then. Ill tell you Absouletly nothing there just going to keep hammering the diesel car driver becouse we are the easy targets and being typical british people we wont do or say any anything about it.
doesn’t matter who gets into parliament they are all tarred with the same brush up goes their wages first an tax the diesel drivers ,our roads are a disgrace for what we all pay ,pot holes /speed bumps so high you need a Sherpa to see you over them ,no better than dirt tracks
Totally with you. The roads are a disgrace. Holes everywhere. I drive like I’m drunk because I have to swerve constantly to avoid damage to my car. Companies who also dig up the roads never have any respect. They bodge the work and then we suffer. Filled trenches that are sunken or protruding. Never ever level and smooth road surface. It’s my biggest bug bear. I’m sick of it.
because those don’t give the local pollution which is the urgent issue. there has been a massive rise in car numbers and it’s causing local health problems. Also the manufacturers always said they would deal with diesel emissions when the anti-carbon changes were brought in. Turns out they just didn’t bother with the very fine particles and hoped no one would notice, and shelved the ad-blue [NOx emmissions] stuff due to the financial crisis.
buses are being changed and will do so far quicker than passenger vehicles.
the “local” health problems have their roots in the multitude of traffic calming measures implemented by local authorities. Speed humps, forcing cars to slow and accelerate, white lines taking away available vehicle capacity. Street furniture, reducing vehicle capacity, idiotic short bus lanes that buses cant get too because the removal of one lane forces all other vehicles into 50 % less space, causing traffic jams, that have the buses caught in them.
The funniest one of the lot is in Manchester near the Etihad stadium, where the trams run down the road scrambling for space with the ordinary motorists. When the cars are caught in a jam (and its quite often) then the trams are help up also.
It was the government that promoted the use of diesel cars and the public bought into the idea big time. Now the info has been found to be incorrect the government propose to punish all that bought diesel on their advice. How is this fair in any way, shape or form? The people most affected are on the lower wage end of the scale who are already struggling to make ends meet and can’t afford to sell or trade up to a newer petrol car. Ironically it’s been proven that diesel Euro IV diesels are less polluting than the latest Euro VII models. This is due to the new emissions cars being set up to meet a standard at idle speed, not driving speed. The Euro IV does pollute more at idle but once on the move it’s emissions standards are better than petrol and the latest Euro VII. The fair way to do this is to not impose any punishment on cars that fall under the time period when the government recommended them. They will disappear off the road over time as they become less cost efficient to repair and people will then move over to petrol vehicles. This time will allow people to put some money away for a future purchase knowing a petrol car will be needed.
I totally agree with you cars don’t last forever and will eventually be replaced by newer models
agree that the standards stuff is more and more of a scam which reflects the power the motoring lobby has.
But the CO2 issue is far better with diesels, that isn’t wrong info and action on that was demanded back then.
Trouble is the manufacturers have been very late dealing with the other diesel issues (eg using ad-blue tech) due to the financial crisis and now there is the issue of ultra fine diesel particles which was supposed to be addressed by the diesel particulate filters brought in in the middle of the last decade.
does the chancellor realise that aircraft cause more damage to the atmosphere than any thing on this earth could possibly do.
Its the same lame excuses on our budget every year…to.get more revenue for parliaments cock -ups and over spending.
Not quite right there. A study by Southampton University indicated it was less polluting to fly to Edinburgh from Southampton Airport than it was to drive!
Also shipping is a villain that’s been getting away with it for years. Over the horizon, out of sight out of mind, belching out CO2, consuming fuel at about 6ft per gallon.
ha ha ha …and you beleive them ,,,,,
Jim, why wouldn’t you?
the problem is localised pollution rather than worldwide pollution (not that this isn’t an issue). apparently it’s the diesel emissions on busy roads that causes a very local but serious problem.
The car industry was supposed to introduce more tech earlier to deal with diesel but the financial crisis put that all on the back burner and delayed.
That’s why it’s only the last 2 years that you’ve seen the ad-blue type tech being introduced. That’s not new, just new to passenger vehicles.
But petrol re-introduces the CO2 problem, but that’s not in the news right now so…..
Adblue has been around since 2004.
Ah, but the government added a tax for the planes. So they must be squeaky clean exhaustless machines now. I definitely remember them saying, that the extra revenue from the flight tax, was going to be piled straight back into the development of a less polluting jet engine.
Oh no, wait, I must have dreamt that last part.
Absolutely untrue!! Last count al the aviation in the world contributed 5%
Please provide evidence.
Who did the counting, all transport of whatever type contributes here but the powers that be are frightened to come up with accurate statistics so that we are better informed because of personal agenda’s
Increasing taxation is not the solution. I have no faith in government, all colours! When it comes to the environment they are hopeless bumbling idiots! 5 year terms definitely do not lead to joined up thinking.
When Labour were pushing diesels I used to travel a lot to to USA and was aware that diesel cars were considered not environment friendly there, how right they were. Some states even had a ban on the sale of diesel cars.
I just have to laugh when this lot say that all petrol/diesel cars will be banned by 2040. Electric trucks? What about the hydrogen fuel cell? Much better than polluting electric cars, yes polluting I said, where do you think the electricity comes from!! Ha ha!!
This is totally the wrong approach, after one goverment tells everyone to buy diesels the next taxes them higher. Sounds like a good move to make some more tax money to me. If they are truely interested in helping the enviroment they should be subsidizing new clean vechicles and getting older more polluting ones off the roads by offering financial incentives. By taxing people who own these vehicles more that this will slow down the move to newer cleaner ones as people won’t be able to afford to switch.
The Government is particularly good at displaying its technical ignorance in this area of science – from a Chartered Fuel Technologist.
Not just science Dr A, just about anything to do with real life on real wages
My diesel is less polluting than any petrol on the road. The fact that I can do more mileage per tank is why they want to charge more. They will also cause further inflation rises as the cost of goods will go up due the vehicles delivering the goods are diesel
Just to throw a rock in the pond and create a few ripples; I believe that a few years ago James Dyson foresaw a potential problem with diesel particulates becoming a real hazard to health, and researched possible solutions. Unfortunately, at that time there was little or no interest from govt or manufacturers.
What now Westminster? Allocate finance so this important research can be brought up mass production standards for all diesel vehicles, or simply sidestep and make them into cash cows?
the manufacturers did tell govt they could deal with particulates as it wasn’t new technology – and filters were added in the last decade. And CO2 is far lower with diesel which was the aim back then.
however turns out it doesn’t deal with the very fine particles as you say, and the other emissions that the ad-blue tech is now being introduced for was delayed by the financial crisis.
The monumental jump in volume of local traffic has now made this a local pollution issue. eg Uber has added 40,000 vehicles to London. that’s a lot of congestion you add in.
cheesed off with drivers being the cash cow, this could well push me into a very early retirement as most of my spare cash funds petrol to get to work to pay more tax
Im thinking very much the same way Kev… but I do feel sorry for those who dont have that option.
Just another excuse for for the government to raise tax , drivers already pay over 60% tax and vat on a litre of fuel .
How the hell do you ‘ditch your diesel’ when it’s on a 4 year contract? It’s not as if they spend the money on “green” initiatives like electrifying more rail lines. They just waste it. I’m sick to the back teeth of inept politicians, which is about 1,500 of them if you include all the ‘Lords’, using taxpayers as a bottomless pit. James is right – what about all the public transport vehicles that are so old the fumes just about kill you every time they go by? I wouldn’t pay the idiots in washers.
well we are the easy target it’s not as if we can go and picket a refinery and then get cheaper taxes or cut a deal.
Well said Sam.All or most of them MPs,think of only one thing.I have 5years of this thing.Must keep on being a Good Kidder.
And remember it cost’s them nothing as they just put it on there expenses and we end up paying for it
I don’t believe we polut more than other petrol cars petrol cars put out poisness fumes that can kill carbon monoxide is a dangerous gas nobody talks about that
I still can’t get my head around a petrol car doing 25-35mpg and a diesel doing 40 – 65 mpg and diesel being the more polluting yet doing in some cases over double the mpg.
On top of the better diesel mpg, weren’t we supposed to be running low on oil reserves.
The Americans have picked up the slack and have now overtaken Saudi as the worlds biggest oil producer… they dont seem to have any problems finding supplies.
Although I drive a diesel car my main concern is that all lorries and farmers tractors run on diesel. Every thing we buy gets to the shop in a diesel powered lorry how will this effect prices?
the government will say its ok because its red diesel ……which is ordinary diesel with a red dye
Making diesel more expensive is inflationary, trains, trucks, aircraft service vehicles all run on diesel as do council vehicles so up goes your holidays and council taxes, food and travel.
Well there will be ‘exemptions’ for haulage and public transport won’t there, including bloody great Daimlers that take you from N0 10 to No 11. Hypocrites the lot of them.
What about LORRIES, ALL AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES, SHIPS, PLANES, all MOD VEHICLES, TRAINS, etc don’t they also pollute?
We must be the biggest sucker country in the world as we seem to think we can put right all problems on our own at our expense.
If the government wants to phase out diesel as they are so concerned about our health and the environment, let’s have a decent government funded diesel scrappage scheme for all diesel cars – not just the oldest ones. Otherwise, this looks like an opportunistic windfall tax on diesel drivers.
What a cheek the government has! They were the ones who ENCOURAGED people to buy diesel cars in the first place! Now they’re trying to put the blame squarely on the diesel drivers. He should be giving us incentives to change our cars, not penalise us! Sack him!
Gordon Brown is no longer in any position of power – thankfully!
It doesn’t matter who’s in. They are all crooks, hypocrites and thieves anyway.
One word disgusting after the government encouraged the sales of diesel cars a while back!
A holistic approach is required. It cost more in a carbon footprint that to leave teh existing “dirty cars” cars on teh road.
The Government are just reaping a financial harvest from their previous assumptions about how superior diesel is when compared to a petrol driven car.
What is the “pollution metric” when comparing the output of pollutants from diesel cars when compared to all the other diesel population.
The car driver is an easy target. I am just back from Norway one of the most expensive countries. The price of their petrol it was cheaper than ours and they are earning 2.5 times more than us. It is shocking what we are charged in this country. The problem us we don’t do anything about it we moan but we don’t take action on it. We keep voting for ridiculous governments (they are as bad as each other). They only line their own pockets with their off see investments etc. What we do about it is something we need to think about and take action. They cannot jail everyone in the UK if we refuse to pay the additional costs – are jails big enough to hold 40 million people?? Stop paying and take action – I am looking at this at the moment as I am so fed up with any government that is voted in. We are too stiff upper lip suck it up don’t upset the apple cart, let’s just moan about it
Well put.
!00% right Gaenor, time for a motorist revolution, all motorist who are affected by this should email their local MP and register their disgust or maybe do a “French Revolution” and block motorways, Airports, Shipping Ports, and even all entries and exits around the Houses of Parliment,,( hang on though the latter one might give the “Attendee’s another excuse to stay away from “work” on full pay.!!
Average litre of ul in Norway is €1.72, Derv €1.61. In UK it is €1.36 and €1.39 – so you’re wrong about fuel prices. Average monthly take home pay in Norway is €3,305, in the UK it is €1,905 – so you’re wrong about wages too. The rest of your rant makes little sense either!
Several years ago when ‘Global Warming’ news came into the spotlight, all forms of transport were being blamed as contributing factors. Predictions and warnings were made for the cutting back on the use of transport in an effort to reduce harmful gases, I can understand that argument.
What I cannot understand is how airports are expanding.. more runways, more flights = more polution in my mind.
Why is aviation fuel not taxed? Why are flights so cheap that people don’t give it a second thought, even though it’s the highest contributing factor (I think!). Why am I being choked by older buses, trucks and trains?
Speaking as an un-employed person living in a semi-rural area and thus relying on my diesel car as a viable (affordable) form of essential transport, I am concerned that the Goverments idea is to outprice diesel cars off the road by way of taxation, extra fees, etc. Why not incentivise and subsidise the future alternative of ‘getting about’ rather than robbing the little money left for some people, which will leave them in an even less likely position of being able to change vehicle!
Was it not the government that told us too use diesel instead of petrol and desil is a by product of petrol so desil should be cheaper than petrol yet retailers are hitting drivers of desil cars harder than anyone else ! If the chancellor wanted too do somthing positive in taxation do away with road tax and just tax the fuel used!
Encouraged like many others to buy diesels, I have 9 year old diesel which i was going to change this year, the petrol version does not come anywhere near the mpg, there arent any viable electric /hybrid alternatives, then there is the increased road tax levy on new vehicles…..i will hold onto the diesel for a few more years until there are acceptable alternatives. Meanwhile, I sold the second car in exchange for a scooter for commuting/leisure/business usage with superb mpg and free convenient parking….
Initially now it is time for the bus and rail companies to look forward to alternatives and then commercial and private affordable options should become available.
Meanwhile we will continue to plan trips and economically car usage and reluctantly pay the tax burdens……
I am of the opinion that petrol cars pay more tax due to their reduced mpg…….hey, also in many European countries the price of diesel is far less than petrol…ugh !
Logic, what logic !
Most of the NHS ambulances are diesel engined, obviously as they are cheaper to run. Are the politicians going to lead the way and change these vehicles over to petrol engines as an example to the rest of us?
Let’s not electrify the railways; let’s tax new less polluting diesels instead! Typical Tory thinking.
A general tax on diesel would be wrong. Road Tax should be based on postcode as should fuel taxes. It may be a way urban areas can provide local improvements. It is often forgotten diesel is less polluting on rural and longer journeys than petrol. However, having an urban-based political class is the bane of rural and semi-rural areas.
As for subsidies for old vehicles to be taken off the road, it never dawns on politicians that old car owners have not the money to buy new cars. Such schemes are always exploited by richer members of the community to get discounts. It is something that the so-called working class political party does not understand.
I agree with you on the subsidies on older cars as these will fad away on their own as they will be worn out,it is an ill thought out idea.
Most likely to get more tax from buying new cars
There is more bad stuff coming out of central heating than coming out of diesel cars
If the chancellor introduces even more taxation on diesel car drivers and the price of diesel again which has already risen by 10p per litre in some areas of Scotland will the chancellor tell us if all this extra revenue will go directly to installing new electric charging stations in Scotland and also to keep the cost of the electricity down at the charging stations? Also will he promise to make sure that electric car batteries will advance enough to match the same mileage on one charge as a diesel car can? Also the price of all electric cars must be reduced by thousands of pounds if you want people to buy them so an electric car will not be for the rich to afford they must be affordable to all classes in the UK. Also the cost to maintain an electric car and the costs of the spare parts must be kept down otherwise I am perfectly happy to keep my 425 miles plus range on one full tank of diesel. Remind me Philip Hammond what is the present maximum distance i can get on one full charge for an electric car? And how long will i have to sit around in a cafe until my electric car has charged and just how far out of my way will i need to travel at extra cost to even find any charging station on a map?
This is Philip Hammond looking to hit the motorist yet again with another money raising scheme. Why does he not start with the old diesel buses in the UK first and the diesel lorries they polute far more than any new modern diesel cars and many have lower exhaust emissions than some petrol cars. Will he give millions of pounds to the motor industry so all car dealers can substatially reduce their prices on all electric cars? Whilst giving a guarantee that car dealerships will just keep on making larger profits than they already do.
Reminder a decade or so ago one could buy the same spec car built for the UK market in Europe far cheaper than buying the same car in the UK even after paying the UK VAT. I remember buying my Honda Accord in the Netherlands from a Honda dealer in Rotterdam and the car was built in the Honda Swindon car factory then it was shipped to Rotterdam where I purchased it and then put it on a DFDS Ferry to North Shields and i drove it up to my home in Aberdeen and wait for this even after paying all the UK Vat I still saved a huge £4,990 on the price of my car if i had bought it from a Honda dealership in the UK.
No wonder the UK is called RIP OFF BRITAIN.
Oh no I’ve just bought a new diesel car to be economic. I won’t be changing it for the next 5-6 years at least.
As a healthcare worker who needs his car to do his job I choose diesel because of the mpg and the fact that I was encouraged to do so.
I do get a mileage allowance but this hasn’t changed in the ten years I’ve been doing this job.
The worst culprits for diesel pollution are ships and buses so let’s see a change in legislation to get these cleaned up.
People choose to go on holiday on a waterborne polluting behemoth but I have no choice about using my car for work.
Would not be so bad if they used the money to repair some of the roads ,we use to drive on the left of the road now we drive on what’s left of the roads
I retired in 2015. I never enjoyed staying in hotels or B&B’s, so after a lot of searching, in February I found and bought a motorhome. It is a 2001 model, and runs on diesel, but was within my budget. I have already used it to travel the length of the south coast of England, and plan to tour the Scottish coast next year. If the price of diesel rises, and I find that I can’t afford to use it anymore, that will be the end of any more touring, as a motorhome is the only way of doing it, and I cannot afford to buy another vehicle. They talk about pollution in cities, but I never go to any cities. They are targeting cars because they are an easy target, but what about all the thousands of ships that use diesel? Will they make them change to another fuel? Of course not. That would cost billions, and the only alternative would be nuclear. I would convert my motorhome to use gas if I could afford it, but I can’t.
I had my 1st mot last year and I have a diesel tuning box and when they tested the emissions the reading said too low to register, so I am a loss to the strategy on diesel. With all the new particulate filters etc surely a modern diesel is as clean as petrol?? Can someone enlighten me please.
Surely any tax should be based on emissions rather than a generic tax on diesels
Strikes me there are 2 issues at play here, 1) Less MPG with Petrol – more tax for Government.
2) I need my diesel, living in the countryside, no buses, no trains, no alternative.
Increase the cost of Tax/diesel to penalise diesel drivers and we will go back to the old “Surfdom” situation, where you cannot afford to drive or change your car, the rural populace will be confined to their villages as of years ago.
Government should come down from their ivory tower and sample the “REAL WORLD”!
Rant over.
Thought the newer diesels were just as good as petrol cars, so I hope there will be no tax increases for diesels registered since 2016.
There are too many vehicles using our overcrowded roads any way to reduce the number of vehicles using the roads is a good thing Some must enjoy sitting in their cars for hour in traffic jams and traffic jams will only get worse unless the number of vehicles allow to join in them is reduced Instead of hours it could easily become days Some will scoff at that but stop and think it will happen if not soon but later
Diesel generators power wind farms-eco friendly? All a farce! I work hard and drive a Diesel Jag (cheaper to run & tax than my previous older Focus) also have an Eco diesel Fiesta both ‘cleaner’ than a lot of petrol cars. Both have stop/start so not polluting if sat in traffic. Sick of rolling over & paying extortionate taxes. Solution-go on benefits, not pay my taxes & catch old fuel belching buses?
Whilst we do drive a new, 2017 diesel car, I am also concerned about what effect tis will have on lorries. Most if not all run on diesel, which will in turn effect everyone of us. Where we live, in Gosport, the ferries also run on heavy oil, which is very pollutant, are they, and airplanes also going to be penalised?
I had a diesel SEAT and when I changed it I bought a petrol Citroen to be more pollution friendy. It did exactly 20 mpg less and the road tax was £145 compared to ZERO for the SEAT. After 6 months of high fuel bills, I ditched the petrol and bought a Euro 6 Diesel SEAT. Guess now I will be hit in the pocket for this!
Nothing ever changes,so if your well off and can afford a new car that’s great,but what about the not so well off? There the ones that get crapped on by the government every time………..there all Paul Ankers
It’s just another way to tax people who can’t afford to buy a new car,all very well trying to get people to buy electric cars but you still have to use grid to charge them . And with so low mileage to the charge it would take 2 days to drive from north to south I hope he puts as much hatred into people who knowingly ripped off hmrc with off shore fiddling as he is for people who took governments advice and bought a diesel car.
I drive a 57 plate 1.9 diesel Jetta which gives me good miles per gallon, and a pensioner may i add, why on earth is the government doing this to people who years ago were advised by a Labour government to drive diesel cars, they are blindly charging into all of us to drive electric when we either cannot afford to buy one or are happy to stop us driving altogether…….i for one don’t want to be a “stop at home” pensioner so please think again about us “older” people
That is all they are thinking about driving older people off the roads to make more room for themselves.
I drive a diesel but, I’m sorry, the Chancellor is right. It is now clear that diesel is responsible for way more pollution than we used to think. It kills people and we need to tax them out of existence. In particular, all our cities need a congestion charge like London, and it needs to be higher for diesel.
So what are you going to do about your diesel constribution Angus? You’ve been brainwashed with the big brush with which this issue is painted by politicians, environmentalists and the media.
You think the congestion charge is for cleaning the air up ? if it was for that reason why not simply stop traffic coming into the area paying £10 a time to enter does not make the vehicle any cleaner the charge is just another money making scheme.Another way to fool the public that the public office is doing something…..which they are fleecing you and me then raising the charge 7 yrs later saying it isn’t working.