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Chancellor Rachel Reeves is currently under increasing pressure from various opposition parties to maintain the existing cut in fuel duty, rather than allowing it to increase as planned. This debate has intensified following recent developments in the Middle East, which have raised concerns about the stability of energy supplies. The scheduled rise in fuel duty would see the temporary 5p reduction on petrol and diesel, introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, gradually withdrawn starting this September.
Reform UK, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats are united in urging the government to keep the lower fuel duty in place due to heightened tensions in Iran, which have caused energy prices to increase. Reform UK has proposed offsetting the cost of retaining the cut by reducing green levies, including scrapping government incentives for heat pumps and electric vehicles and cutting £9.4 billion in subsidies earmarked for carbon capture and storage over the next three years. At a press event at a petrol station in Derbyshire, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick emphasized that the current Middle East crisis makes it the “worst possible moment” to increase fuel duty, standing alongside party leader Nigel Farage.
The Conservative Party has sought to escalate the issue politically by submitting a motion in Parliament aimed at triggering a vote to prevent the rise in fuel duty. Meanwhile, Chancellor Reeves has stated in the House of Commons that the key to managing fuel prices effectively lies in efforts to “de-escalate” the conflict abroad. Reeves also highlighted a recently launched government initiative providing motorists with real-time forecourt price information to encourage more competitive shopping. Additionally, she hinted at the possibility of increasing the tax-free mileage allowance from the current 45p per mile, a rate that has remained unchanged since 2011 despite significantly changing motoring expenses.
The 5p fuel duty cut was initially introduced by former Conservative Chancellor Rishi Sunak in 2022 as a temporary response to the global energy price surge caused by the war in Ukraine. The cut was subsequently extended multiple times by both Conservative and Labour governments, with the most recent plan allowing it to be phased out gradually by March 2027. Raising fuel duty in line with inflation has been government policy for years, though no increases have taken place since 2011. During the press conference, Nigel Farage criticized the government’s green levies as “lunatic” and condemned Labour’s restrictions on new North Sea oil and gas exploration. Farage also addressed questions about Reform UK’s position on potential UK military involvement in Iran, explaining that while opinions differed on direct action, the UK had rejected a US request to use British bases for strikes. He argued that the US and Israel would have conducted strikes regardless and that past defense cuts prevent the UK from becoming directly involved
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