𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Rachel Reeves has been accused of waging “war on motorists” as Kemi Badenoch stepped up demands for a Commons vote on the Chancellor’s proposed 5p increase in fuel duty. Tories believe anxious Labour MPs will be deeply reluctant to support plans to increase the cost of petrol, and are trying to use parliamentary procedure to force a vote on the hike.

Mrs Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: “Labour’s war on motorists continues.” She called the rise “another attempt to clobber hard-working Brits to fix the economic mess they made”. Mrs Badenoch said: “They can’t or won’t take the hard decisions necessary to get spending down and the economy back on track, so instead they just reach for more tax. We will fight this again and again.”

On Tuesday, Conservatives tabled a parliamentary motion calling for the increase to be cancelled.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also demanded that the Chancellor back down, and pledged that a Reform government would reverse the duty rise by using savings of £13billion from axing Labour’s net zero policies.

He launched the policy at a Derbyshire petrol station commandeered by Reform for the day, where motorists were invited to fill their tanks for 25p per litre less than the regular price, in a symbol of the party’s intentions.

Robert Jenrick, the former Conservative MP who is now Reform’s Treasury spokesman, said the party would axe Government subsidies for heat pumps and electric vehicles, and end a “carbon capture” scheme in which CO2 emissions are stored underground.

It would mean Reform abandons the current government policy of banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

Mr Jenrick said: “Reform UK stands squarely with alarm clock Britain – the people who get up, fill the tank, drive to work, and keep this country running. We will always stand up for working people and help lower household costs for families.”

Mr Farage added: “How are we going to pay for not increasing taxes? Well, we’re going to get rid of lunatic green levies.”

Fuel duty was cut by 5p per litre in 2022, to help households cope with rising bills following the invasion of Ukraine. However, Ms Reeves announced in last year’s Budget that she is to start reversing the cut from September.

In addition, duty will rise with inflation from April 2027, after years of freezes.

The Chancellor insisted the 5p cut was always meant to be temporary. She said: “In November, I extended the 5p-per-litre cut in fuel duty for a further five months and ensured that Fuel Duty will not increase with inflation this year.”

Petrol prices have shot up following the US and Israel attacks on Iran. They steadied earlier this week, when Donald Trump predicted the conflict may end “soon”, but the cost of a litre of petrol has jumped by 3.5p over the past week to a three-month high of 135.67p, official data showed last night.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said adding 5p to fuel duty will mean UK duty is 8p per litre more than the EU average for petrol and 14p higher for diesel.

John O’Connell, the pressure group’s chief executive, said: “The Chancellor certainly isn’t to blame for the expected surge in petrol prices over the coming days, but if she chooses to press ahead with the hike in fuel duty, then she’ll be responsible for pouring petrol on the fire.”