Image credit: Rachel Reeves / Labour
Two Conservative MPs in Cheshire are urging the chancellor not to increase taxes on fuel when she unveils her Budget later this week.
Esther McVey, who represents Tatton, said she believes Rachel Reeves plans to increase fuel duty during the new Labour government’s first Budget statement on Wednesday.
Ms McVey is joined by Aphra Brandreth, and about 70 other Tory MPs, in writing to the chancellor to oppose such a move.
The Tatton MP said she was wholly against the idea, and would prefer fuel duty to remain frozen, as it had been during her party’s 14-year tenure.
“Ideally, I would like to see a reduction in fuel duty but at the very least I want it to remain frozen,” she said. “Any increase will have a devastating impact.”
She added: “It will push up food prices, as businesses will need to claw back the cost of transportation, and will drive up inflation.”
Ms McVey said she felt it would damage the economy and be bad for growth.
As well as co-signing the letter, she also accompanied Fair Fuel UK founder Howard Cox to deliver a 130,000-signature petition to Downing Street.
“I will not sit quietly and allow this new government to increase prices at the pumps for my constituents,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ms Brandreth – who represents Chester South and Eddisbury – commented: “In a constituency as rural as ours, many families rely on their cars to go about their day-to-day lives.
“Increasing taxes on motorists would be unfair, and the government should think twice about doing so.”
Posting on social media, Rachel Reeves described her financial plan for the country as “a Budget to fix the foundations and deliver change”.
She said: “I’m going to be honest about the scale of the challenge we inherited – a decade of sluggish economic growth, deteriorating public services and a £22bn black hole in the public finances.”
She said her Budget would represent a credible and honest plan for the future.
“We will protect working people, and we will begin to fix our public services,” she said.
The Budget will start a new chapter, she added, towards making the country better off, and putting more pounds in people’s pockets.
Ms Reeves will deliver her Budget speech on Wednesday 30th October.
