John Healey must push fuel duty to the top of his agenda or face the frustration of 30 million Britons, all of whom have a petrol or diesel combustion car in their driveways. For cash-strapped road users, the next month or so could be a whirlwind.
Budget warning and tax rise fears
Rachel Reeves' replacement has already warned that the country is in for a tough October budget. Experts have suggested taxes will rise and spending cuts will protect the £24billion fiscal headroom Rachel Reeves had last year. Tax rises can only mean one thing for drivers, and it is not good news.
Fuel duty rates have not increased since 2011. However, Labour looked set to change this as they set about trying to axe the Conservatives' 2022 5p cut. They backed out of the decision before the plan could go ahead, as the Middle East crisis saw fuel bills skyrocket.
Planned increases and legal default
Despite this, Reeves and Keir Starmer did not completely ditch the plan, only pushed it down the track. It means that, according to HMRC, the legal default will see rates rise in months. As things stand, road users face a 3p fuel duty increase from January, with another 2p rise in March 2027 unless this is changed in the Budget.
Campaigners at FairFuelUK have warned that lower fuel costs are a benefit for the country, with businesses likely to invest more in productivity, expansion and innovation if they spend less on fuel. The experts warned that lower fuel costs can also help reduce inflation as transport costs feed directly into the price of goods and services. Lower prices mean that consumer spending will rise, boosting economic activity.
Driver affordability concerns
A fuel duty hike may look like an easy, quick win to generate some cash, but a previous poll found that as many as six in ten (62%) of road users believe cars are becoming unaffordable. A fuel duty hike will only make that worse.
Labour could argue that reversing the 5p cut is not an increase at all; it is merely reversing fees back to their 57.95p default pre-2022. But drivers will not see it like that now. Too much time has passed. Four whole years. Most road users taking their car from A to B will not even care about the details.
Motorists will see more money coming out of their accounts at the petrol pumps and only look in one direction with vented fury, at the man in charge of the nation's purse strings. He must clean up Rachel Reeves's mess, or 30 million Brits will not forgive him.
