Should the government rethink its planned fuel duty rise?

Whilst raising the price of fuel, the government will receive less from it as people use less. However, this is their only measure to satisfy the green lobby. Many pensions are dependent on oil company profits and as people use less, pensions will also lose value. Couple that with inflation and people like me don’t forsee a prosperous future.

For once though, would it be possible to say “hard-working people” rather than “hard-working families”? To say that families are more important than single people is discriminatory. You see it in all news outlets and personally I think it’s unfair.

A few thoughts:

It’s just not going to happen , hopefully. I do not see the “motorists” (a la AA spokesman) financing the Chancellor increasingly this way – the fuel escalator. The conditions set for carbon reduction by all of us are extremely demanding and any individual private car user will need to co-operate very diligently by using less fuel – not by paying more to consume ever more fuel!

There are many ways open to any of us to deal with the mobility requirements of our lives. From a better use of the “car” to selective use of the obvious combiination of walking, cycling, car sharing, taxi, rail, bus, air, ferry etc., and from a greater use of avoidance of travel (eg home working, telecommunications etc). All adding up to an increasing number of saved journeys. But all this is obvious stuff.

This does mean a better utilization of the private car for unavoidable jouneys and lots less annual Km travelled with real savings on fixed and variable costs. The tax? Well yes please increase it, if it means reducing even ever so slightly the 400% of public and private debt we all owe as a proportion of the UK’s GDP.

Perhaps if you think the cost of fuel (tax included) is excessive, consider the price of bottled drinks by comparison, even over a longish period. Most are sold by the litre so it should not be too difficult to work out.

Considering the overall cost of private motoring, I suggest there are indeed better ways of disposing of income as a priority just to keep garages in business – and the motor industry buoyant.

Motoring is expensive, so the car users themselves must also clean up their act, not just expect the Chancellor to take more money from us, and adopt proper intelligence in the transport methods we all need to use instead.

A car for many is a convenience if you live in a city. It will cost you say £1 a mile or moreto run, if you include all costs. So you might be better off using public transport, hiring a car when necessary, and occasional taxis. But the high cost of public transport may well alter this if you have a family.Car sharing schemes do not seem to have developed as an option.
In the country it is much more of a necessity.
But wherever you live “convenience” is the key to why we want our own vehicle – even the best public transport does not come close to going where you want, when you want, and carrying what you want. Most are prepared to pay for that convenience.
To contain costs we have a choice: being careful when to use a car, good driving technique, choosing a smaller and / or more economical car will more than offset any tax increase.

Tax on fuel is far to great for the Lower paid to get to work.I myself have cut substantially the amount of miles i do.I use to live in a place were a car is an essential now not as much although there is buses they are few but i dislike using them as wavechange says . I hate listening to people jabbering on their phones, playing music, eating pizzas, etc, etc. Young Parents Efin language even with young children only in the last few weeks has my local town got better after redevelopment it has taken far to long sadly we lost a few individual shops that were competitive they could not afford the new rents.On top of Road-tax its to much most of us cannot reclaim travel costs like MPS and the upper-classes who know every Tax dodge

It’s not just the price of fuel in private cars that will hit consumers it’s also the cost for farmers, haulage firms, supermarkets, manufacturers, airlines, ferries, fishing, etc that will be passed onto all consumers, with the low-paid and those on any benefits bearing the brunt as usual.Those who can afford it are on the Gravy Train, those who can’t are on the Band Wagon.

Malcolm r you really bought the media Trade Union bashing Peugeot bought Car plants for £1.00 from Chrysler it then wound down all the plants over the years.Despite excellent more Cars per man; excellent quality; it closed the Ryton Plant in Coventry where there was no Strikes for years wages fell enormously compared to others & the quality was far superior to French Build.Peugeot opened a new car plant in Slovakia then closed Ryton during the last few years before they closed Ryton Shift Patterns were constantly changed so Family persons found it hard both hours of work& child care+low income.Everyone should remember when a big employer Closes it has a massive knock on effect.The EU subsidized the Slovakian Plant at the expense of the British worker. Technology and modern practice will never provide large scale employment.Massey Ferguson was also closed in Coventry but the Belgian plant kept open where their government subsidized it.Those in Whitehall only care about Banks not about Industry the same happened in America look at Chicago.We have to import but do not have to have it all coming though Dover clogging up our motorways.The knock on effect is hitting the high street now the Public schoolboy government ministers do not care about Fuel Prices they Claim it back from the Taxman.