HIGHLAND AND HAULAGE JOBS BETRAYED BY LONDON PARTIES.

HIGHLAND AND HAULAGE JOBS BETRAYED BY LONDON PARTIES.

The SNP has accused Labour, Tory and Liberal MPs of betraying their constituents after proposals for the introduction of a Fuel Duty Regulator, to provide relief for motorists and industry from soaring fuel prices, were defeated in the Commons today (Wednesday).

SNP proposals for a road fuel regulator would have seen any extra cash raised from VAT on higher pump prices go straight back into an equivalent cut in fuel duty.

SNP Westminster Transport spokesperson, Angus MacNeil MP, said:

“The SNP amendment was focussed on protecting jobs in the transport industry and helping motorists and businesses, and it is bitterly disappointed that this opportunity for action has been thrown away by Labour, the Lib/Dems and Tories.

“Hauliers, and motorists in rural areas, have been struggling with forecourt prices for some time, but the recession, and now Alistair Darling’s plans to increase fuel duty even further are the final straw.

“In the teeth of recession the UK government should be easing the burden faced by business and households, and a fuel duty regulator mechanism would help do just that.

“Scottish Labour and Liberal MPs have essentially voted for fuel prices to continue rising, and I think they will have a lot of explaining to do when they go back to their constituencies.

“With households and businesses in Scotland facing some of the highest fuel prices in the world, those Scottish MPs who have betrayed their constituents should be named and shamed.

“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.”