He had to do it really didn’t he? I’m talking about Osborne’s big fat slap on the back to motorists.
Car insurance prices have been going up, petrol prices have been increasing and they were set to rise even more with the planned hike in fuel duty. It was set to rise by the rate of inflation and 1p a litre every April until 2013 which would have slapped 6p onto every litre of fuel.
But consumer activists weren’t happy and campaigners lobbied the chancellor and we got our way!
At Confused.com we threw our support behind The Sun fuel duty campaign urging our readers to sign the petition. So a great big thanks to everyone who showed their support, it’s a great outcome for all motorists and shows you just what a bit of consumer activism can do. Read all about the petrol price campaign here.
Fuel duties
So in summary, what does it mean for you? The chancellor suspended a planned increase in fuel duty and cut the price of fuel by 1 penny per litre. This is effective from 6pm today (23 March 2011).
He introduced a fair fuel stabiliser in an attempt to make fuel hikes fairer for everyone. This stabiliser will see fuel duty increase by RPI (Retail Prices Index inflation) when oil prices are high, but when they fall below a trigger ($75 per barrel is expected) on a sustained basis, they will increase by RPI plus 1 penny per litre.
Potholes
The chancellor also announced plans to help drivers in one other way that really rattles us motorists; potholes. He has set aside £100m to fill the potholes that have been causing havoc across the country. Read more about how to cope with potholes here. And find out what we we've been saying in our pothole blog to help you get your own back.
