Fuel prices bite harder as pressure mounts on Reeves to act
With calls to cut fuel duty growing louder, the gap widens between what motorists are paying and what the government is saying.
It’s getting harder and harder to ignore the rising cost of fuel in the UK, and whether you ride a 125 or a big-bore cruiser, filling up hurts much more than it did just a few months ago.
But according to campaign group FairFuelUK, it’s not just a grumble at the pumps anymore, it’s edging into full-blown crisis territory.
Fresh figures from the group suggest 36.4 per cent of 3,678 UK sole traders, think plumbers, sparkies, brickies, the lot, reckon current fuel prices could push their businesses to the brink. And while many bikers aren’t running white vans for a living, the knock-on is obvious: when fuel goes up, everything else follows it.
FairFuelUK founder Howard Cox isn’t exactly asking politely. Backed by what he says is 1.8 million supporters, he’s calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to at least freeze fuel duty for the rest of this Parliament, and preferably start cutting it now, especially on diesel.
And it’s not just a niche campaign either, as a wider poll cited by the group, nearly 79,000 respondents strong, claims a hefty 95.4 per cent want duty reduced immediately. They are also calling for VAT on fuel to be scrapped and for some sort of watchdog to be brought in to stop fuel retailers from doing whatever they fancy. Their proposed solution? A “PumpWatch” regulator to keep things honest.
Reeves, for her part, has so far waved off rising fuel and energy costs as “global turbulence”, which, to be fair, isn’t wrong. But it’s not exactly helping when you’re staring at the price per litre ticking upwards like a bad lap time.
To add a bit of context, and perhaps calm things slightly, a joint statement from Fuels Industry UK CEO Elizabeth de Jong and Petrol Retailers Association Executive Director Gordon Balmer suggests supply itself isn’t the issue:
“We are aware of reports circulating about fuel availability at a small number of forecourts for one retailer. Supply across the UK is flowing normally, and there is no need for any change in usual buying habits.”
In other words, there’s no need to panic-buy, even if your bank balance might feel like it’s already taken a hit.
Elsewhere, countries like France, Italy and India have been a bit more hands-on, stepping in with caps, tax cuts, or supply measures to take the sting out of rising prices. Here in the UK, though, the feeling from campaigners is that riders and drivers are being left to just get on with it.
There’s also a bit of political crossfire in the mix, with fingers pointed at Ed Miliband and the government’s Net Zero push as a reason for reluctance to ease off fuel costs. The thinking here is that high fuel prices might push people to zero-emission vehicles, benefiting the Net Zero lobby.
For now, the ask is simple: freeze duty, cut it if possible, and stop fuel prices feeling like a lucky dip. Whether you’re commuting on two wheels or running a business on four, the current situation isn’t just annoying, it’s starting to bite.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
