Relief at last for local motorists

Rural motorists breathed a sigh of relief today after the Chancellor announced a cut to fuel duty that could save local drivers up to five pence a litre.

 

Motorists in the Welshpool pay for some of the most expensive petrol in Britain and in the last week alone they saw Tesco’s new station hike the prices twice in consecutive days.

 

Some analysts have even predicted that we could be paying up to £2 a litre by the year’s end if Middle East unrest escalates, but, at least for now, motorists can enjoy some welcome news.

 

"For once, we are pleased that the Chancellor has heeded the demands of people living in rural Wales seriously affected by the current surge in inflation," said Farmers Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan, who lives in Montgomeryshire.

 

“We had genuine concerns that local motorists would see prices rise by an extra five pence per litre (ppl) or almost 23p per gallon at the pumps next month. So the Chancellor's Budget announcement to cut fuel duty by 1p immediately and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser is welcome.

 

"When I urged the Chancellor in January to scrap next month's fuel duty increase and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser scheme, prices for unleaded petrol across Wales were already reported to be running at £1.32ppl and up to five pence more for diesel.

 

"I believe that we had by then reached a critical point at which action must be taken to significantly reduce fuel tax in order to aid the economy. The FUW is very much in favour of the early introduction of a fair fuel stabiliser, where duty is cut when oil prices soar and goes up again when prices fall, as this will be much fairer on rural dwellers.

 

"Bearing in mind that there is a difference of as much as five pence per litre between rural and city garages in Wales already, any added fuel duty coupled with rising oil prices is devastating to rural communities all over the UK.

 

And Mr Vaughan believes more should still be done.

 

"It is grossly unfair that we here in the UK pay far more for our fuel than any other country and the fault lies with the extortionate level of tax imposed by the Government,” he said.