Today I am calling on the Government to freeze fuel duty and to change policy on raising the tax on fuel. Every day I speak to people who are facing increasing fuel bills and are deeply unhappy that this is due to the government increasing taxes.
Fuel duty is set to rise by 2.55 pence per litre from April 2010 (1% above the rate of inflation) which will cost the average family an extra £200 a year and cause further problems to small businesses already struggling with higher fuel duties. Plaid has insisted that this duty hike should be postponed.
Campaign organisations such as the Road Haulage Association and the Farmers Union of Wales have come out in support of Plaid’s calls for a fair fuel duty regulator. Under such a plan, an unexpected spike in petrol prices would lead to a freeze on fuel duty.
But freezing fuel duty as a short term measure is only part of the picture to tackle the cost of motoring in a sustainable way. I have been a long term advocate of increasing investment in public transport alongside road charging for particularly congested roads e.g. Cardiff at rush hour. My view is that there is sound evidence to support a small congestion charge for driving into Cardiff at peak time, but then use the money to both invest in public transport and reduce where appropriate fuel duty.
I'm sure the initial reaction to such a proposal would be negative, but think of this for a moment. There is already a congestion charge for entering Cardiff every weekday morning. If I travel to work from Penderyn at peak time it can take me more than half an hour longer to get to my office in Cardiff University than at other times of the day. So at the minimum wage, there is already a congestion charge of £2.90 in the morning and in the evening.
We need to tackle fuel duty, support those businesses trying to make ends meet and promote a more sustainable answer to fuel taxes.
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