In response to letters fromhis constituents on the fuel price increase, Dr Fox has issued the following:
Dear constituent,
You recently wrote to meabout the cost of fuel and, naturally, I passed on your concerns to Treasuryministers. I am sure that you were therefore pleased to hear that theGovernment was able to defer Labour’s planned increase in fuel duty, whichwould otherwise have increased prices by 3p per litre this August. Fuel dutywill now be frozen for the rest of the year. The delay will be paid for withthe higher than forecast savings in departmental spending.
The Chancellor is committedto reducing the deficit inherited from the last Labour Government and so heannounced his decision only when it was clear that it could be paid for bythese savings. The announcement was made to Parliament first, which is rightand proper. The Chancellor announced his decision a month before the rise wasdue to come in, as has happened in the past.
This Government has done moreto support motorists than any other. The Chancellor cut fuel duty last year,and we have now avoided two years’ worth of rises planned by the previousGovernment. As a result, petrol prices will be 10 pence per litre less thissummer than if Labour were still in power.
This comes on top of othermeasures to help working families with their cost of living, such as freezingcouncil tax for a second year and putting money back in the pockets of 25million taxpayers through rises in the personal allowance.
These measures are possiblewithin the constraints of dealing with the deficit we inherited from Labour –the largest deficit in the developed world. Restoring the public finances hasrequired some difficult decisions, but progress has been made. We have cut thedeficit by a quarter in two years, and we have been re-building the UK’scredibility in international financial markets, which has enabled us to keepborrowing costs low. We should remember that for every percentage point rise inmarket interest rates, £1,000 would be added to the typical family mortgage.
The Opposition have showntypical hypocrisy in claiming credit for this change. This was a rise that theyhad themselves legislated for in their final Budget before losing power. Thenew Government’s decision is the right action to help families, businesses andthe broader economy, and I welcome it wholeheartedly.""
Yours Sincerely,
Liam Fox