JAMES McMurdock MP has criticised the Government after ministers responded to his call for fuel duty to be reduced by confirming only that they would maintain their planned freeze – without addressing his proposal for a cut.
In a letter sent to the Chancellor in May, Mr McMurdock urged the Government not only to avoid increasing fuel duty but to actively reduce it, arguing that lower fuel costs would provide meaningful support to households, commuters, and businesses facing sustained financial pressure.
The Member of Parliament for South Basildon and East Thurrock said:
“I welcome the fact that fuel duty is not increasing, but I am disappointed that the Government did not even engage with the case for cutting it. Families and businesses remain under enormous pressure, and this was an opportunity to provide genuine relief.”
Mr McMurdock argued that fuel prices feed directly into the wider economy through transport costs, supply chains, and the cost of goods and services.
“People feel fuel prices everywhere. Whether it is commuting to work, deliveries to local businesses, or simply doing the weekly shop, higher fuel costs ripple through the economy and make life more expensive.”
He also pointed to the broader tax burden facing households, warning that Britain is moving towards historically high levels of taxation. The UK’s tax burden is expected to rise to a post-war high, reaching levels not previously seen in modern peacetime Britain.
Mr McMurdock added:
“Government is expected to impose the highest tax burden in modern peacetime British history, on top of the rising cost of living. Against that backdrop, ministers should be looking for practical ways to reduce pressure, not settling for doing the bare minimum. The record was previously held by Clement Attlee’s post-World War 2 government which had the challenges of a post-world war to deal with. As the Labour Minister for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, stated Labour’s motto is ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others'”
He concluded by reaffirming his support for lower taxes on motorists:
“Freezing fuel duty is better than increasing it, but when households are facing severe cost of living pressures, the Government should be asking itself a bigger question: how do we make life cheaper? Cutting fuel duty would have been a good place to start.”
