SNP IN EVE OF BUDGET FUEL DUTY APPEAL.

SNP IN EVE OF BUDGET FUEL DUTY APPEAL.

INCREASE WOULD HINDER ECONOMIC RECOVERY

SNP Westminster Transport spokesperson, Angus MacNeil MP, has issued an eve of Budget appeal for the Treasury to rule out a further fuel duty increase, arguing that a further hike would hinder economic recovery.

Mr MacNeil said:

“The Treasury is clearly desperate for every penny it can get, but pushing up fuel prices would be the wrong thing to do in the teeth of recession.

“At a time when the Treasury should be stimulating the economy, a further increase would hit already hard-pressed households and businesses – in particular the haulage industry. A hike may temporarily boost empty Treasury coffers, but an increase will actually hinder economic recovery.

“Increases in fuel duty are not a green tax, they are a Brown one, and people in the Highlands and Islands have had their fill of Labour’s fuel duty increases. What Treasury Ministers in London forget is that for people in rural areas, a car is a necessity and not a luxury.

“Currently, fuel duty accounts for about 71 pence of every pound the motorist spends at the forecourt.

“It is more than ironic that Scotland, as one of world's largest oil producers, is hardest hit by Labour’s irresponsible fuel duty increases.”