Hard-pressed Brits face MORE misery at the pumps as fears mount Rachel Reeves will hike fuel duty
TAKING US FOR FUELS Hard-pressed Brits face MORE misery at the pumps as fears mount Rachel Reeves will hike fuel duty
DRIVERS already hammered by soaring motoring taxes could face fresh pain at the pump with a fuel duty hike.
Rachel Reeves is understood to be 'considering everything' at the next Budget after her welfare U-turn — prompting fears for motorists.
Advertisement
Top Tory Dame Priti Patel said a hike would mean a 'betrayal of working people'.
The AA says motorists are already being squeezed, with Vehicle Excise Duty rising by £30 since 2022, plus millions more paid in parking charges, tolls and congestion fees.
AA boss Edmund King also warned any rise at the pumps 'could be catastrophic' for the UK economy.
He added: 'The added danger is increased duty simply fuels higher inflation. The strong message to the Chancellor is 'keep it down'.'
Advertisement
The AA says motorists are already being squeezed from all sides, with Vehicle Excise Duty jumping from £165 to £195 since 2022, and millions more paid in parking charges, tolls and congestion fees.
Drivers of older cars, including popular models like the Ford Fiesta and VW Golf, also face a £160 tax hike when they are eventually forced to upgrade to newer vehicles.
The Sun's Keep It Down campaign has helped freeze fuel duty since 2011 - saving drivers thousands but ministers are under pressure to find cash after billions were pledged to reverse planned welfare cuts.
A Treasury spokesperson said: 'We extended the fuel duty cut this year, saving drivers £3billion, and we're investing £1.6billion to end the pothole plague by fixing up to seven million extra potholes.'
Advertisement
Pressed on whether she would raise taxes, Reeves said: 'Of course there is a cost to the welfare changes that parliament voted through this week and that will be reflected in the budget.
'But I'm also very, very clear that [the] stability that we've been able to return to the economy, which has enabled the Bank of England to cut interests rates four times, is only possible because of the fiscal discipline which is underpinned by the fiscal rules.
Never Mind The Ballots Fuel Duty Debate
"And we'll be sticking to those because they're absolutely vital for the living standards of working people and also the costs that businesses face.'
1
Hard-pressed Brits could face a fuel duty hike after Labour's welfare U-turn
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
10 signs the Tories and Reform had a terrible year - from Elon Musk to Partygate
All eyes are on Labour's as it marks the end of a rocky first year in power but the Tories and Reform UK have had far from a smooth ride - here we take a look at their lowlights All eyes are on Labour's as it marks the end of a rocky first year in power but the Tories and Reform UK have had far from a smooth ride. This time last year, Rishi Sunak had just led the Tories to its worst election result in history. One Tory MP told me last month that the brazen former PM had still not apologised to her, or her colleagues, for calling an election in the summer, which saw many high-profile politicians lose their seats. She said anger was still rife towards him. When Parliament returned after the summer, the MP said Mr Sunak would walk around with a shield of his pals - like former deputy PM Oliver Dowden - to stop frustrated Tories interrogating him on why he led them to annihilation at the polls. A year on and Kemi Badenoch has done little to turn around the sad state of the Tory party. Keir Starmer has repeatedly branded the Conservative Party irrelevant, describing it as a "dead party walking" that is 'sliding into the abyss'. Meanwhile, Reform UK have been making big gains in the polls. But it has been far from a smooth ride for Nigel Farage - and as his party gains popularity, so too does the level of scrutiny that his councillors, MPs and himself come under. His plans being compared to a Liz Truss-style unfunded nightmare and a spectacular row with and resignation of one of the five Reform UK MPs elected last year has done nothing to help Mr Farage's ambitions to professionalise his party. Here we take a look at some of the rocky moments for the Tories and Reform UK since last year's 2024 election. Dire Tory leadership race... and conference After Rishi Sunak resigned as PM, he carried on as a caretaker leader for the Tories for a painful few months while the Conservative leadership race dragged on. Last Autumn's Tory party conference in Birmingham was a drawn out series of pitches at panel events from Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick. Cringey merch was littered across the conference centre, including hats featuring a slogan about a sex act. Kemi Badenoch, who went on to become leader, had an explosive time during the party conference. In the most memorable row, she was branded "hopelessly out of touch" after saying maternity pay is "excessive" and has "gone too far". Elsewhere during the conference she said between 5% and 10% of civil servants are "should-be-in-prison bad". This would mean between 25,000 and 50,000 were put behind bars. During the same month, she was mocked after claiming she became working class when she got a job in McDonalds. Tories keep dropping in polls Kemi Badenoch has ultimately struggled to make any progress at all in the Tories' standing in the polls. In fact, since the election, the Conservative Party's ratings have continued to fall - largely due to a rise in popularity for Reform UK. According to a YouGov poll last month, just 10% of the public believe Ms Badenoch looks like a prime minister in waiting, while 81% see the Tories as being in a weak state. It doesn't help that she got off to an extremely shaky start at PMQs, with scripted questions and gaffes galore. And a mega-poll by YouGov was equally bad news for the Tories. It showed Reform would win the most seats if a general election happened now. The party would secure 271 MPs, while Labour's 411 would crumble to just 178 and the Tories would find themselves in fourth spot with 46 spots, behind the Lib Dems ' 81 seats. Ms Badenoch's leadership has also been persistently undermined by Tory MP Robert Jenrick - who is in her Shadow Cabinet - and appears not to have realised the Tory leadership race is over. In February, it emerged his leadership campaign website, was still live despite it being months after Ms Badenoch became Tory leader. Badenoch says Partygate was overblown A day after becoming Tory leader, Ms Badenoch thought it would be a good idea to declare Boris Johnson a "great" Prime Minister and that the Partygate scandal was "overblown". In her first major interview since winning the contest to replace Mr Sunak, Ms Badenoch suggested the problem instead was with the Covid fines. During his time in No10, Mr Johnson became the first sitting PM to be sanctioned by police after he was found to have breached his own Covid rules. Despite being among dozens who resigned from his government in July 2022, Ms Badenoch told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg she thought Mr Johnson was "a great Prime Minister". She added that there were however some "serious issues", explaining: "Some of those things I think were perception issues, a lot of the stuff that happened around Partygate was not why I resigned. I thought that it was overblown. We should not have created fixed penalty notices, for example. That was us not going with our principles." She added that the public was "not wrong to be upset about Partygate", but said : "The problem was that we should not have criminalised everyday activities the way that we did." Elon Musk turns on Nigel Farage In an astonishing turn of events, tech billionaire Elon Musk - who was then a close pal of Donald Trump - turned on Nigel Farage in January, not long after the pair had met in the US. The Tesla and X owner dramatically called for Mr Farage to go in a huge embarrassment for the Reform UK leader. The billionaire claimed Mr Farage "doesn't have what it takes" and said the party needs a new person in charge. The unexpected call for change came just hours after a fawning Mr Farage branded him a "hero" and said his support makes his party "look cool". Musk posted on Twitter /X: "The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn't have what it takes." It followed weeks of cosying up together, with Mr Farage suggesting Musk could plough millions of pounds into his party. Musk suggested that then-Reform MP Rupert Lowe could be the best bet to succeed him. Kemi Badenoch hadn't met grooming gangs victims When the grooming gangs scandal hit headlines again earlier this year, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch was vocal in the discussion. But it emerged she had never actually met any survivors of grooming gangs and had no current plans to meet with any victims, nor had any asked to meet with her. At Prime Minister's Questions Keir Starmer, who had a private meeting with victims that morning, accused Ms Badenoch of "jumping on a bandwagon" - as she had failed to raise the issue in the Commons during her eight years as an MP. The Tories had strapped a wrecking amendment to Labour's Children's Safety bill, which would've taken it down entirely unless the government agreed to hold another national inquiry into grooming gangs. Ms Badenoch has since met with victims. Tory MP refers himself to watchdog In the latest Tory row, Tory MP George Freeman last week referred himself to the parliamentary watchdog following claims that he was paid by a company that helped him write questions to government departments. The former Science Minister has referred himself to the standards commissioner after emails came to light suggesting that he had lobbied the government on behalf of the environmental monitoring company GHGSat. Kemi Badenoch has been accused of not being firm enough on the issue. The Lib Dems called on her to 'come out of hiding' and immediately suspend the whip from Mr Freeman after he referred himself to the parliamentary watchdog, and accused her of 'following in Boris Johnson's footsteps' by so far refusing to do so. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP said: 'Kemi Badenoch's deafening silence over this scandal shows she is following in Boris Johnson's footsteps when it comes to leading the Conservative Party. Her refusal to take action should come as no shock from someone who thinks the partygate scandal was 'overblown'." Reform UK's explosive civil war At last year's election, five Reform UK MPs were elected to Parliament. It didn't take long from five to go to four after a spectacular row between Rupert Lowe and Nigel Farage. In March, Reform UK reported the Great Yarmouth MP to the Metropolitan Police in March over alleged threats of physical violence against the party's chairman Zia Yusuf. He was suspended from the right-wing party. In May, prosecutors decided no criminal charges would be brought. The civil war appeared to begin after Mr Lowe branded Reform UK "a protest party led by the Messiah" and questioned whether Mr Farage would make a good Prime Minister in an interview with the Daily Mail. The party later then made the allegations about Mr Lowe's conduct to police. A very public row, with the pair slinging insults at each other, followed. Mr Lowe has since become an active critic of Reform UK and Mr Farage, with the axed MP this week launching his own party Restore Britain. Reform UK's total number MPs is now back up to five after Sarah Pochin won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election in May. Reform UK chair quits - then un-quits A bizarre row broke out in the top ranks of Reform UK in June, when party chairman Zia Yusuf quit and then un-quit his role. He dramatically resigned on social media just hours after criticising newly elected Reform MP Sarah Pochin for demanding a ban on the burka. Reform UK distanced itself from Ms Pochin's comments, confirming that a burka ban is "not party policy". Mr Yusuf waded in to say it was "dumb" for Ms Pochin to ask the question if it was not Reform policy, before quitting his position later that day. But two days later Mr Yusuf said his decision was a "mistake" and would return to the party to lead the party's "Doge" team, which is inspired by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, to cut waste and sending in Reform-controlled councils. The affair once again showed the unpredictability and individualist attitudes in the leadership of Reform UK. Reform compared to 'Liz Truss 2.0' Reform UK has and will likely continue to struggle to gain true credibility as a political party. It is surging in the polls but many see it as a protest piece. In May, Nigel Farage faced a backlash after setting out a raft of unfunded policies. Among them, the right-wing leader said his "biggest aspiration" was to lift the level at which people start paying tax to £20,000. The respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the party's pledge could cost between £50-£80 billion a year. Among Mr Farage's policies, the right-wing leader said his "biggest aspiration" was to lift the level at which people start paying tax to £20,000. He also committed to scrapping the two-child benefit limit, which Labour is examining as part of a child poverty strategy, restoring the winter fuel payments, and tax breaks for married couples. He claimed he'd be able to pay for the policies through scrapping net zero and diversity and inclusion programmes - but provided little detail. In response, Keir Starmer deliverd a major speech warning Nigel Farage's "fantasy" economics would lead to a Liz Truss -style economic meltdown. The PM labelled the Reform UK leader "Liz Truss 2.0" as he addressed workers in the North West after Mr Farage used a speech this week to unveil "uncosted" policies - running into the tens of billions. Farage in US - never in Clacton. first holiday Nigel Farage faced criticism in his first months as an MP after repeatedly jetting off to the US to support Donald Trump during the presidential campaign. The Mirror has documented many of his trips. The latest row over Mr Farage being out the country was in May, when the MP was branded a "part time leader" after the Brexiteer politician skipping a crucial debate on Mr Starmer's EU deal. He was absent despite criticising the UK-EU reset agreement in the press, calling it a Brexit"surrender". At the time, The Mirror asked him if his constituents deserved to be represented in a debate on the UK-EU deal, to which he said: "Where was the defence minister? Have you criticised him? "He was climbing Everest and we were doing a new defence pact with the EU. It was my first time away for three years." He was referring to veterans minister Al Carns, who was raising cash for veterans' charities with a record-breaking climb of Mount Everest.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Raise taxes or this government will fail, Rachel Reeves' former top adviser warns
Rachel Reeves must U-turn on her manifesto pledge not to raise taxes for working people or Sir Keir Starmer 's government will be forced to abandon other key priorities, one of the chancellor's former top advisers has warned. Jim O'Neill, a former Goldman Sachs chief turned Treasury minister who quit the Conservatives and later advised Ms Reeves, said she faces no choice but to abandon key parts of her economic policy – including her commitment not to raise income tax, National Insurance contributions for employees or VAT. Questioning whether that promise was now sustainable, he told The Independent: "Without changing some of the big taxes, welfare and pensions, they (Labour) can't commit to things like Northern Powerhouse Rail, small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), and various other things that will make an investment and growth difference." His comments come in the wake of a disastrous week for Sir Keir's government as ministers were forced to abandon key parts of the welfare reforms to stop a rebellion by Labour MPs, leaving a £5bn black hole in its spending plans. In a week defined by Ms Reeves openly shedding tears in PMQs with questions over her future, the pressure on the government to balance the books and dramatically change strategy has increased, with the chancellor admitting that the U-turn came at a 'cost'. But with Labour dropping spectacularly in the polls – and the prime minister facing growing disquiet from the backbenches – mention of the government's missions has all but disappeared, while the economy continues to stagnate. Lord O'Neill claimed that part of the problem was that the government was caught in short-termist thinking about Nigel Farage and Reform who have taken a large poll lead. 'They need to stop worrying about Farage, they have four years before that should matter,' he said. Reflecting on the problems with the welfare reform bill, he went on: 'The past few days should force government to truly prioritise, link specific priorities to their growth mission, get out of the 24/7 social media, and, crucially, recognise it can't deliver on all three of its fiscal rules, growth mission and manifesto tax commitments. Something has to give. 'I'd personally abandon triple lock on pensions, and the current welfare bill, and say they are going to pursue more serious welfare reform.' Top pollster Luke Tryl, UK director at More in Common, told The Independent the government would be better off pushing through big tax hikes now in order to fix public services before the next election. He said: 'At this stage, the government would be better to do a broad-based tax rise and ensure they can deliver on making Britain feel like it's working better, than risk a continuation of the public feeling Britain is totally broken. 'Having boxed themselves in breaking the promise won't be without pain, but the alternative – four years of the public not seeing change – is far worse politically and for the mood of the country.' On Friday, Ms Reeves refused to rule out tax rises in the wake of what she admitted was the 'damaging' climbdown on welfare cuts. The chancellor is said to have warned that any tax hikes this autumn are likely to be more painful than those she pursued last October, with all low-hanging fruit options having been taken. Asked whether she could rule out tax hikes, she told The Guardian: 'I'm not going to, because it would be irresponsible for a chancellor to do that.' The government is, however, believed to be opposing growing calls from Labour MPs for a wealth tax to fill the hole in the public finances. The UK's leading economic thinktanks have, meanwhile, warned that tax rises are inevitable with speculation that there could be a raid on pension funds and new rules to prevent people offsetting tax by putting their money into pensions. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: 'If we are looking at £30bn – which is quite plausible – you can't see a way in which you raise that kind of money without hitting people on middle incomes. 'If you are looking for big money then it has to be something in income tax national insurance or VAT.' Ben Caswell, senior economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said: 'It seems like, given the spending review and the allocation of funds given (and poor GDP growth and public finances), raising taxes in the Autumn seems almost inevitable at this point.' Tax expert Arj Kumar, founder of tax advisers Taxd, warned: 'The next budget will likely see Rachel Reeves dig deeper, raising taxes further to cover government spending on defence and a boost to infrastructure. If these hikes continue to cripple businesses, it's working families who will pay the ultimate price.' The warnings come as the prime minister strongly hinted that the government is going to bring in tax rises at the next Budget. In an interview with the BBC's Nick Robinson, the presenter claimed that Sir Keir had said: ''I'm not going to put your taxes up,'' adding: 'Then taxes went up.' The prime minister hit back: 'Nick, be fair, we had a manifesto commitment that we wouldn't increase income tax, National Insurance and VAT for working people. That was a manifesto commitment. That is what I said to you last time, and that is what we've kept to. 'So the one thing we didn't do in the last budget was we didn't breach that manifesto commitment. We're not going to breach that manifesto commitment.' Critics have noted that his response only closed the door to tax rises on the big three – income tax, VAT and national insurance. Already, a leaked memo from deputy prime minister Angela Rayner to Ms Reeves, has revealed that the left of the party is pushing for so-called wealth taxes on the super rich and big corporations. Ms Rayner outlined eight possible new wealth taxes instead of cutting public services further.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
David Lammy deploys army of top diplomats to kickstart economic growth and combat impact of Trump tariffs
David Lammy has brought a team of Britain's elite diplomats home in a bid to finally kickstart economic growth and combat the global impact of Donald Trump's tariffs. Senior ambassadors and high commissioners have come back to the UK to take part in a roadshow around the country to encourage businesses to export more and link up with the countries they are posted in. It comes as the E-Commerce Trade Commission recently reported that 70,000 businesses in Britain which are ready to export still are not exporting. The commission estimated that £7bn of growth could be unlocked in the economy if UK businesses fulfil their potential linking up with foreign markets. With economic growth in the UK at a mere 0.7 per cent for the first quarter and concerns that a failure to hit potential has left an unwelcome £18bn hole in chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget the government is desperate to use all its resources to turn things around. There was speculation that the mounting pressure on the chancellor combined with needing to find another £5bn after welfare cuts were abandoned was the reason she was in tears during PMQs on Wednesday. There have been concerns as well that while the UK mitigated the effect of Trump's tariffs in its trading relationship with a deal struck by Keir Starmer, the wider impact on business confidence and global supply chains continues to be a problem. The decision to deploy senior diplomats follows an instruction by the prime minister that all departments need to take part in delivering economic growth. In a speech at the British Chambers of Commerce in March, the foreign secretary laid out a 'new partnership between government and business' to drive economic growth in the UK and ensure this Government is delivering for the British public. Speaking to The Independent about the diplomats roadshow, he said: 'Our ambassadors and high commissioners are the salesforce for the UK economy. 'Through this roadshow, my top diplomats are meeting mayors and regional businesses to discuss trade and investment opportunities and strike new partnerships, ultimately so they can champion the UK's interests overseas and deliver growth. 'In this government's 'Plan for Change', the economic interests of British businesses sits at the heart of our foreign policy.' The roadshow follows the launch of the government's landmark modern Industrial Strategy, with each roadshow stop designed to target one of the eight growth sectors, including defence, clean energy, life sciences, digital tech, advanced manufacturing, and services. On Thursday last week Britain's Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom visited Portsmouth with more than 10 visits taking place last week and more planned throughout the summer and into the Autumn. Ms Longbottom visited British hovercraft manufacturers Griffon Marine, which has a multi-million-pound deal with the authorities in Japan's Oita Prefecture to provide vital passenger services connecting Oita Airport in Kunisaki with Oita City. She said: 'I was particularly excited by Portsmouth's strong defence industrial base, cutting-edge technology, and advanced manufacturing sector, all fantastic opportunities for partnership with Japan.' On Monday, ambassador to Belgium Anne Sherriff visited South Wales for a meeting with the Welsh Government's Director for International Relations. She also visited CSA Catapult, a not-for-profit research and technology organisation based in Newport which supports start-ups, SMEs, large organisations, and academia to commercialise compound semiconductor technologies. The first roadshow kicked off last week with ambassador to South Korea, Colin Crooks, headed to the North East of England. The ambassador visited firms linked to clean energy with a tour of the Tees Works freeport and met with the UK chief executive of SeAH Wind, a South Korean company constructing a wind turbine manufacturing facility in Teesside. Meanwhile Joelle Jenny, the ambassador to Denmark, visited Lincolnshire, while Ed Llewellyn, the ambassador to Italy, went to South Yorkshire. The roadshow will build on the £86 billion boost to the science and tech sectors announced in the Spending Review, which backed UK regions to take cutting-edge research into their own hands. The research and development package means local leaders have government backing to develop 'innovation clusters' across the country, to unlock the talent and opportunity in every region and nation.
