Chancellor George Osborne

Updated: Fuel duty hike challenge in House of Commons defeated – tell us what you think.

By CHRIS HILL, Rural affairs correspondent Monday, November 12, 2012
10:51 PM

A bid to delay a planned fuel duty rise this January has been defeated in the House of Commons.

It came as pressure today has been growing on chancellor George Osborne to abandon the government’s controversial 3p-a-litre increase.

This evening, a House of Commons vote was defeated by 282 votes to 234, giving the government a 48 vote majority.

Opposition Labour MPs had been calling on the government to delay the tax hike until at least next April, claiming families and businesses are in desperate need of some good news from the exchequer.

Shadow chief secretary to the treasury Rachel Reeves said: “With our economy so fragile and prices still rising faster than wages, it would be wrong to go ahead with another tax rise on families and businesses.”

The campaign group FairFuelUK previously said it believed the tax hike could will raise only £800 million, compared to Treasury projections that it would bring in £1.5 billion. It could also cost as many as 35,000 jobs, it said.

The group campaigned at parliament today ahead of the debate and vote in the Commons, which finished just before 10pm.

Its spokesman, broadcaster Quentin Willson, said: “The momentum building up behind FairFuelUK’s call to see this damaging 3p rise scrapped is becoming unstoppable.

“The Treasury appears to be listening. We welcome Labour pushing on this issue. Consumers are currently paying an eye-watering 80p-per-litre in combined fuel duty and VAT.

“This is socially unjust and adding another 3p in tax doesn’t make sense for economic recovery and deficit reduction.”

Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman declined to comment on whether the Government might back down on the 3p fuel duty rise, saying only that it was a matter for the Chancellor.

He said: “The government obviously recognises that the cost of petrol is a significant part of day to day spending and that is why the government has listened to the views of consumers and motorists and acted over the past two years by delaying or cancelling planned rises.”

How will the proposed tax hike affect you? Contact reporter Chris Hill on 01603 693892 or email chris.hill@archant.co.uk.

To see what our local MPs, businesses and rural campaigners have been saying, see tomorrow’s papers.

26 comments

** " No one is more hypocritical in all of this than Labour who left this elephant trap for the Tories. " **. The fuel rise escalator was invented by the Tories in 1993 , the work of Norman Lamont and and carried on by Kenneth Clarke .

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LARSON.E. WHIPSNADE

Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Why isn't the EDP telling us that Steve Morphew and Brenda Arthur apparently failed to declare an interest in a charity awarded a grant by the council Surely we should know something like this before Thursday's election? Even if only an omission in minutes it is an interesting little story.

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Daisy Roots

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
I think -did I blink and miss an EDP article on Steve Morphew and Brenda Arthur failing to declare their interest in a charity which was awarded funding by NchCC ? A charity which bought part of a loss making company owned by Morphew and a charity which has Arthur's husband as chief executive. It may be an error of minutingby the council, but by golly, if Voluntary Norfolk is an example what a lot of fingers in pies there must be.( BBC website Norfolk News)

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Daisy Roots

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Only 3p rise? double it, that will bring down the prices of rural homes enough so that the locals who actually live and work there can buy them.

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expat

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
@ beverley - No one is more hypocritical in all of this than Labour who left this elephant trap for the Tories. They legislated for the price of fuel to rise year on year by RPI + 1p per litre until 2014 15. Now to create a bit of theatre before Thursday they have done a U turn and it would have been plain daft for tories MPs to get involved with their silly games. Let`s just wait until Osborne gives his statement before making a call on this one because it does not appear the rise is going to happen.

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BG

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
a desperate goverment who are borrowing 400 million pounds a day to pay for the last labour goverments mistakes

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milecross

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
a desperate goverment who are borrowing 400 million pounds a day to pay for the last labour goverments mistakes

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milecross

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
a desperate goverment who are borrowing 400 million pounds a day to pay for the last labour goverments mistakes

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milecross

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Richard Bacon voted for the increase in fuel tax too. He is so out of touch it is unbelieveable.

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john smith

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
One who voted with the government was George Freeman our hypocritical parasite MP!!

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beverley

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The fuel price escalator was brought in by the Conservatives in 1993 to curb the polution caused by the burning of hydrocarbons. It was scrapped in 1999 by Labour, but they then introduced their own version which would put up the price of fuel by 1 pence per litre ABOVE the rate of inflation. Osbourne reduced the rate by 1p per litre last spring, scrapped the Labour automatic increases, and delayed the expected increase.This meant that the increase in April 2011 was 3p per litre instead of 5p per litre. The current arguement is over the 3p autumn increase which was delayed from August, which would have been 4p under Labour.

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Stuart

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Let’s just see what Osborne has to say in his December statement before we all get so animated. Labour are clearly up to mischief. If Osborne does announce in December that he is not going to defer the increase in fuel duty then is the time for Labour to step in and act. They would then be able tocount on the support of rebel Tory MPs and the government would definitely be defeated. Labour knew full well it wasn`t going to win last night and was just playing to the audience as a cynical pre cursa to Thursday’s elections

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BG

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
He's not foolish, he has to find every scrap of income he can to help pay for the benefits, health costs and education for the soaring number of babies being born to families of non UK origin and for the tax credits and benefits the EU says the UK has to apply equally across the board for those who qualify and will be qualifying in the near future. Labour had over a decade to abolish the fuel duty escalator but were happy to keep it, rural drivers suffered most and Labour governments don't care about rural voters. And didn't AGW help them justify penalising nasty car drivers? If you are sitting in a house bought overpriced on a cheap mortgage in the last 20 years and with a car bought on credit you are part of the problem Blair and Brown left for the rest of us.

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Daisy Roots

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
How about a list of all the local MP traitors who voted for the rise. Probably by the usual "crawlers".

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"V"

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
NchNthMan ** "Labour introduced this Fuel Esculator... " **. The fuel price escalator was introduced by the Conservative government in 1993. Which makes the rest of your post redundant. Norman Lamont of singing in the bath fame was the Tory that did it. Why not check out the facts ?

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LARSON.E. WHIPSNADE

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
No surprise here. the money must be found to pay for Camerons hike in his "ring fenced " foreign aid. Politicians are unable to see the virtue in slashing taxes to kick start the economy . But when you consider Osborne is nothing more than a mouthpiece for others. His degree in history and total lack of experience in the finance world, hardly makes him responsible for his actions.

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norman hall

Monday, November 12, 2012
Labour introduced this Fuel Esculator and then spent the rest of their term and now in opposition opposing it. Of course they want your vote so they oppose it - why we should ask them did the introduce it? have we forgiven them? No!

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NchNthMan

Monday, November 12, 2012
Well-timed intervention by Labour,allowing information regarding the Tories and their lapdog LibDems refusing to back Labour's proposal to cut fuel prices in time for the Corby and East Northants by-election to be published and circulated to all households.Will the Tories manage to hang on to second place in a seat they only won in 2010?

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Peter Watson

Monday, November 12, 2012
BG I agree. If the answer was "The Labour Party" you'd have to ask what the BH the question was!!!

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windup

Monday, November 12, 2012
The Labour party are being as opportunistic as usual. What they really want is a U turn on the legislation they created which was that petrol prices by law were to increase by RPI plus one pence per litre until 201415. They really are a disingenuous bunch and it is rather a pity that the EDP did not do a, "proper job," and give the reader the full facts.

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BG

Monday, November 12, 2012
prematurely ejaculated news? what will the EDP write when it actually happens? if it happens.

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ingo wagenknecht

Monday, November 12, 2012
Why should he want to momentarily scrap the increase planned for January? Is it because he feels for drivers and the sorry economy? Or is it to soft soap those who drive into voting conservative next May? What is it with this prematurely ejaculated news? What will the EDP print when it finally happens? will there be fireworks and glad handing on the day? And what can those expect who don't drive, for whatever reasons, will they get 3ltr.s worth of fare cuts on the trains? a free rickshaw ride in Katmandu?

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ingo wagenknecht

Monday, November 12, 2012
I think he should quadruple the cost of fuel for anyone over, say, 75, especially if refuelling a Nissan Micra or similar. In that way the supermarket car parks will be less dangerous than Hellmand Province, and the maximum speed to Norwich may, for once, exceed 38Mph!!!!

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windup

Monday, November 12, 2012
Actually it will be 3.6p per litre when VAT is added on to the duty. Doubtless that's all the fuel retailers will add on and not round it up to the nearest penny! That would break the 'tradition' of xxx.9p per litre, wouldn't it.

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F G HOB

Monday, November 12, 2012
Foolish or out of touch? In any event, I do hope that the EDP publishes a full list of how all our MPs vote on this.

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john smith

Monday, November 12, 2012
I wouldn't have thought the man wouldn't be so foolish to go ahead with this........ but then again.

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John L Norton

Monday, November 12, 2012