CHANCELLOR ACCUSED OF ‘HIGHWAY ROBBERY’ ON FUEL TAX.

CHANCELLOR ACCUSED OF ‘HIGHWAY ROBBERY’ ON FUEL TAX.

UK FUEL TAX TAKE OFFICIALLY THE HIGHEST IN EUROPE

ONLY A VOTE FOR THE SNP WILL SEND MESSAGE FOR LOWER FUEL TAXES

SNP Westminster Transport spokesperson, Angus MacNeil MP, has accused the Chancellor of ‘highway robbery’ after new figures revealed tax on petrol and diesel in the UK is officially the highest in Europe.

Figures buried amongst the latest national statistics on Energy Trends and Prices produced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change reveal that a staggering 71 per cent of the pump price of fuel is flowing to the Treasury, compared with 62 per cent last year. The tax take on petrol alone has increased by a 10 per cent in the last year.

Mr MacNeil said:

“The Treasury’s tax take on fuel is modern day highway robbery and these figures unmask Alistair Darling as Dick Turpin of the forecourt.

“People in the North of Scotland and Isles have had their fill of Labour’s fuel duty increases. Instead of trying to bury these figures, Alistair Darling needs to make a statement to parliament justifying why he is hammering hard pressed motorists and businesses.

“What Ministers in London forget is that for people in rural areas, a car is a necessity and not a luxury. Pushing up fuel prices is absolutely the wrong thing to do in the grip of recession and these increases will actually hinder economic recovery.

“Just a few weeks ago the SNP brought forward proposals for a fuel duty regulator to bring down the cost of fuel, but this was voted down by Labour the Tories and Liberal Democrats.

“It is scandalous that in oil rich Scotland key sectors are struggling to fill their tanks, and a Fuel Duty Regulator would have made an enormous difference. Romanian motorists are paying almost 22p less for petrol than people here, despite the fact that fuel is almost 7p cheaper here before tax.

“The SNP has supported Scotland’s hauliers and motorists from the very outset, and the chorus against these increases have been growing louder by the day.

“Next weeks European elections in Scotland are a two horse race between the SNP and Labour and it is only the SNP that can overtake Labour. It is only a vote for the SNP that can send a message that Scotland has had enough of Labour’s high fuel taxes.”