The fuel tax rise is predicted to be postponed according to Alistair Darling, as the rise in associated costs is putting pressure on public spending.
The next rise in fuel which was predicted is now almost a certainty to be put on hold because of the state of the economy. Unleaded petrol was set to burst through the roof again by going up to £6 per gallon. Mr Darling stated this just one day prior to the current chancellor dropping yet another hint that he was not going to increase the fuel prices on Britain’s 32 million drivers.
When being interviewed on Sky news, Mr Darling stated that he thinks that it’s almost a certainty that the rise in fuel will be postponed because of the VAT rise in January, and therefore would be unfair if the current chancellor George Osborne were to increase the price of fuel so soon.
The AA has being asking the government to shelve April’s increase in fuel, and was warned that there was a very slim chance of relief for motorists. Last week, wholesale prices rocketed to a $1000 dollars a tonne, which will lead to an increase directly to customer costs quickly than the rest of the world oil market.
Mr Osborne has a few different routes he could go down with this, including shelving the entire tax rise to just one penny above the retail price index. This means that nearly 5 pence will be added to the price of a litre of unleaded fuel.