Drivers face double whammy as falling petrol prices grind to a halt and Chancellor eyes fuel duty hike
DRIVERS are facing a double whammy as petrol price falls grind to a halt while the Chancellor eyes a fuel duty rise.
The price drop, which cut £6.38 off the cost of filling up a typical car, has flatlined at 133.7p a litre after 11 weeks.
Diesel prices also dropped from 150.5p to 138.4p a litre over the same period before hitting a standstill this week, the AA says.
And as Rachel Reeves mulls axing the Tories’ 5p duty cut, campaigners warn costs could rocket.
The AA’s boss Edmund King said: “The threat of an increase in fuel duty and oil price volatility has dented the sense of relief from lower pump prices.”
It came as Tory MP Saqib Bhatti yesterday launched the FairFuelUK campaign in Parliament, calling for the freeze on fuel duty to stay.
He told The Sun: “British families and small businesses cannot afford a spike in fuel prices this winter.”
FairFuelUK founder Howard Cox said: “Prices will keep rising unless Ms Reeves has the fiscal common sense to keep this tax frozen.”
The Sun’s Keep It Down campaign with FairFuelUK has seen taxes held since the start of 2011.
Earlier in the week, The Sun reported on how fuel taxes were more than double those on Champagne.
Drivers were hit for an eye-watering 56 per cent while posh revellers pay 22 per cent on a bottle of bubbly.
The fresh analysis from the AA comes as pressure mounts on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to freeze fuel duty at the very least in this month’s budget.