I have to go to a meeting on Saturday, but it’s in Spain. Tomorrow I am going to Leeds Bradford Airport and flying out with some friends who are going to the same meeting. Consequently I had to put some diesel in the car, it wasn’t quite empty but it cost me £73 to fill the tank. Of that £73, £46.17 was fuel tax and VAT. So for every £100 you spend on petrol or diesel for your car, about £66.30 goes straight to the government. This is astronomical, a record high.
Today, the Chancellor, George Osborne, has delivered the annual budget speech. Many speculators thought that there would be a freeze on fuel duty, or a reduction in the amount of it, or even the scrapping of the next scheduled rise in fuel duty. The chancellor has done nothing. Nothing at all to help the millions of people in this country who have to use a car for whatever reasons, and who are struggling to afford to fill their fuel tanks. This comes only a few days after the Prime Minister talked about the future financing of road building by the private sector, and allowing for new roads that they build to be toll roads. The Government say that it’s ‘right’ that those who use the roads the most, pay the most.
We already do.
Those who spend £100 a month on fuel pay £66.30 in tax, those who spend £200 a month pay £132.60 in tax, etc. Which part of that do they not understand? A 24 year old with a Bentley Continental, (i.e. a footballer) can afford to pay these prices, no-one else can.
So come the next election, 15th May 2015, my vote goes to the party that promises to cut 25p off a litre of fuel. They can afford to do that by spending less of our money. They could start by halving the number of MP’s we currently have, MP’s could easily represent a higher number of people, and slash the expenses that only MP’s get. We all have to work to earn money, only MP’s have so many ways of legal tax avoidance.