Petrol prices are up 16% to an average of 154.5p per litre since the start of the war, according to the RAC. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianPetrol prices are up 16% to an average of 154.5p per litre since the start of the war, according to the RAC. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianStarmer’s cost of living adviser urges him to extend fuel duty cut in light of Iran warRichard Walker says a possible September rate rise should be scrapped to reflect increase in petrol prices
A cut to fuel duty should be extended to reflect the rise in petrol prices, the government’s cost of living champion has said.
Richard Walker, the executive chair of the supermarket chain Iceland, urged Keir Starmer not to raise the levy in September, in light of the conflict in the Middle East.
The strait of Hormuz, a crucial trading artery between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, has been blockaded since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran at the end of February.
A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and its closure has sent global prices soaring, putting pressure on the world economy.
Fuel duty is frozen until September, when the government will review any rise. Other countries such as Australia have already acted to shield motorists from soaring costs.
Lord Walker, a Labour peer who was given the cost of living brief by Starmer in February, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “The 5p fuel duty cut that you allude to is an interesting one. That’s going to expire in September. I think, given where we are, we do need to be thinking and talking about extending it or enlarging it.
“Interestingly, the Australian government, I was reading, have recently taken 14p per litre cut to their fuel tax. I mean, this cut is 5p.”
The previous Conservative government introduced a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty in March 2022.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said in her budget last November that this would be extended until August, before rates would gradually increase over a five-year period. Starmer has said the planned rise in September would be kept “under review” in light of the war.
According to the RAC, the latest average price of a litre of diesel at UK forecourts is up 30%, to 185.2p since the start of the war. It said petrol prices had climbed 16% to an average of 154.5p per litre in the same period.
Opposition parties have put pressure on the government to address the cost of living crisis by putting forward their own proposals to reduce bills.
The Conservatives have called for VAT on energy bills to be scrapped for the next few years, while Reform UK has said it would reduce VAT on fuel. The Liberal Democrats said they wanted a 10p cut in fuel duty.
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