PM and Chancellor signal a fuel duty cut as they pledge to tackle cost of living crisis in Spring Statement - The Telegraph

A cut in fuel duty has been signalled by Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, as they seek to ease the cost of living crisis facing families in the Spring Statement.

Expectations that the levy could be reduced by 5p a litre were raised after the Chancellor pledged to “stand by” hard-pressed householders facing “prohibitively expensive” petrol prices and the Prime Minister was said to be “pushing” for a cut for motorists.

Asked if he would step in to help people cope with the cost of living crisis, he said: “Of course I am and people can judge me by my actions,” adding: “I will stand by them in the same way that I have done in the past couple of years.

One Tory MP who has called for a cut in fuel duty, which currently stands at 58p per litre, said: “The Boris people seem to be much more getting it and are pushing it quite a bit.”.

The comments come ahead of Mr Sunak’s “mini budget” on Wednesday, when he is expected to set out a series of measures to help ease the cost of living amid fears inflation could hit 10 per cent.

A 5p cut would cost the Treasury around £2.5 billion a year, although the Resolution Foundation think tank said other nations including France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and some US states were offering rebates of up to 10p a litre, which would cost the Treasury £5 billion.

Labour said it would vote for a fuel duty cut, but argued that ministers should be considering more radical measures to guard against cost of living demands, including axing the NI rise.

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said a 5p cut in fuel duty would “only reduce filling up the car with petrol by £2”.

Edmund King, the AA’s president, said there was a “strong case” for a fuel duty cut, but called for greater fuel price transparency to make sure it could be seen in forecourt charges.