LABOUR’S fuel duty hike will hammer families by an extra £156 a year, bombshell Tory analysis shows.
Sir Keir Starmer is planning to increase fuel duty by 5p a litre in stages from September.
For a petrol car, travelling 7,400 miles per year, the annual amount of fuel duty paid will rise from around £495 today to £573 in three years, according to Tory number crunching.
It means the average petrol car driver will be slapped with an extra £78 a year by March 2029.
And a typical family with two petrol cars faces an extra £156.
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden warned Labour’s hike will “hit commuters and hammer hauliers” while pushing up prices in every shop in Britain.
He added: “Labour are about to wallop drivers with the first fuel duty hike in nearly 15 years just as families are already struggling with rising costs.
“Labour are forcing drivers to pay for their economic incompetence.”
It comes as tensions in the M
Middle East threaten to push global oil prices higher.
Earlier this week, Sir Keir told MPs only that he would “keep the situation under review in light of what is happening in Iran” – but refused to commit to extending the 5p fuel duty discount beyond September.
Meanwhile, Government figures unearthed by thinktank TaxPayers’ Alliance shows only half the money raised from motorists at the pump is used to improve local and national roads.
Less than £13bn of the £24bn raised in fuel duty goes on Britain’s road network.
But almost £12bn goes into the Treasury’s coffers under their general fund.
Anne Strickland, researcher of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are tired of seeing the tax they pay for one purpose siphoned off for something else.
“Motorists rightly expect the proceeds from fuel duty to go towards filling potholes, not black holes in the Chancellor’s budget.
“The Chancellor needs to urgently stop the hike in fuel duty, if she wants to avoid pouring petrol on the fire.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “We do not recognise these calculations.
“We have the right economic plan – to support drivers at the Budget we extended the 5p fuel duty cut from this month to the end of August.
“The Chancellor has written to the Competitions and Markets Authority and met with retailers and energy suppliers with a clear message that drivers must get a fair deal at the pump.”
