Petrol prices hit 99.9p in some garages locally last week, before thankfully falling a bit. Families and businesses are hit hard by such high prices. Especially so in Shropshire, where most of us have longer distances to travel to work and most goods we buy have to travel further to get here.
The Chancellor likes to blame these prices on OPEC and the world economy. But he must accept some responsibility himself - the majority of the price of a litre of fuel is taken in tax. This year the Chancellor expects to raise £5bn more a year from fuel duties, or 25% more than when he took office.
In fact the UK has the highest tax take from diesel of any country in the EU and the second highest from petrol (only Holland is just higher).
At last week's average national pump price of 95.5p a litre, the Chancellor takes 58.4p (61.1%) in duty and VAT. In France the average price is some 15% lower; in Ireland it is only 72.9p with tax of 31.3p (43%); while in the US, petrol is only 37p with a tax take a mere 7.4%, or less than 3p a litre.
The Chancellor should reduce the impact of high oil prices on British business and motorists by capping the tax take.
He should also encourage the use of biofuels to reduce our dependence on oil. I shall continue to press for this - it is the best prospect long-term to keep a lid on fuel prices.
