Petrol

Prime Minister: 'Petrol prices to be frozen for another year'

Theresa May is set to reveal that fuel duty will be frozen for the ninth year in a row, so that the government is “on the side of hard-working families”.

The Prime Minister will speak of a car as a necessity and “not a luxury” for millions of people in the UK.

In September, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said such a policy saved UK drivers money, however if it continued for another three years it would cost the Treasury £38bn.

But other Parties have criticised the move by the Tories. For instance, the Green Party has said that the extra money could be spent on cycling schemes or public transport.

However, AA’s president, Edmund King said the freeze would bring ‘relief’ to millions of UK drivers and businesses: “The high pump prices are already forcing many families to cut back on journeys, household expenditure or both.”

According to the RAC Foundation, 61 per cent of the price of petrol and nearly 60 per cent of the price of diesel is taxation.

May will close the conference declaring that the UK’s future, post-Brexit, will be “full of promise”, whilst the fuel freeze will mean families have more “money left to put away at the end of the month”.

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