![\"Chancellor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3bdf2782afe5240d5a228fd97337328c.jpeg\")
Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaking to the media during a visit to a petrol station in Leeds (Jacob King\/PA) \u00b7 Jacob King <\/p>\nA planned increase in fuel duty has been scrapped to help motorists faced with rising pump prices as a result of the war in Iran.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs the 5p per litre fuel duty cut introduced by the Conservative government in March 2022 would be extended for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
That means the rate will remain nearly 53p per litre.<\/p>\n
Rates were previously planned to increase by 1p per litre on September 1, with a pair of 2p per litre rises on December 1 this year and March 1 next year.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s restrictions on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz means the average price of a litre of petrol and diesel at UK forecourts is 26p and 44p respectively more expensive than before the conflict started on February 28.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir said: \u201cFamilies across the United Kingdom are facing impacts of a war that we did not choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis is not our war, but while the parties opposite wanted to jump into it, Labour will always protect working people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: \u201cAlthough today\u2019s news on fuel duty won\u2019t have the immediate effect of bringing forecourt prices down, at least it shows that ministers have registered the financial pain caused by rampant pump prices for individuals and for business.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the start of the Iran conflict, drivers have already paid a war premium of a staggering \u00a33 billion in inflated fuel prices, half-a-billion of which has gone to the Exchequer in VAT receipts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said the announcement \u201cgives an opportunity for the Government\u2019s Fuel Finder scheme to show its value, by showing drivers where to find the best prices\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added that the Treasury has \u201calready benefited from high pump prices\u201d through extra VAT receipts.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaking to the media during a visit to a petrol station in Leeds (Jacob King\/PA) \u00b7 Jacob King <\/p>\n
Sir Keir also announced that hauliers would benefit from a \u201c12-month road tax holiday\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Treasury said they would pay \u00a31 at their annual renewal, saving \u00a3600 for a typical heavy lorry and \u00a3912 for the biggest vehicles on the road.<\/p>\n
Richard Smith, managing director of the Road Haulage Association, said: \u201cWe are encouraged that the Government is listening to industry concerns, and addressing cost pressures through measures they\u2019ve announced today. But they should go much further.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe Government\u2019s action will have limited impact with many haulage, coach and van operators already on the brink.\u201d<\/p>\n
The RAC said on Tuesday that the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts was 158.5p, which was the most expensive level since December 2022.<\/p>\n
It warned that wholesale costs mean pump prices are likely to reach at least 160p per litre in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Farmer, rail freight and other users of red diesel will see their fuel duty cut as part of an effort to reduce costs of goods.<\/p>\n
The rate will be cut from 10.18p to 6.48p per litre from June 15 until the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said \u2018we\u2019ll continue to keep a close eye on what is happening to petrol prices\u2019 (Jacob King\/PA) \u00b7 Jacob King <\/p>\n
Downing Street indicated the package of measures will cost \u00a3455 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe package will be scored at the Budget by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility,\u201d the Prime Minister\u2019s official spokesman told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government estimates this will cost \u00a3455 million in 26-27.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it was thanks to the UK\u2019s \u201cstrong economic growth\u201d that the Government could introduce measures to ease cost-of-living pressures.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the current impact of the conflict, it is right to extend the 5p cut to the end of this year,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
It is not yet clear the 5p freeze will be extended beyond the end of 2026, meaning motorists could be hit in the new year.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to set out future plans for fuel duty in the budget in the autumn.<\/p>\n
Asked what would happen in January, she sidestepped the question, telling broadcasters in Leeds: \u201cThis is not a war that we started, it\u2019s not a war that we entered, and it is a war that we are trying to de-escalate, because that is the best way to get prices down for consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously we\u2019ll continue to keep a close eye on what is happening to petrol prices, to gas prices through the duration of this conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A planned increase in fuel duty has been scrapped to help motorists faced with rising pump prices as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[19881,1092,94,180,9121,182,21118,5,6],"class_list":["post-41874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-fuel-duty","tag-fuel-prices","tag-keir-starmer","tag-prime-minister","tag-pump-prices","tag-rachel-reeves","tag-road-haulage-association","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116607544694572943","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}