Fuel Prices and the Cost of Living

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Wednesday 16th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

I can assure the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Gemma Doyle) that I am not a millionaire. I would, in the words of Travie McCoy, quite like to be a billionaire, but I do not expect that will happen. There are plenty of rich people on the Opposition Benches—people in glass houses and all that.

We should begin by recognising that over the past couple of decades, Governments of all shades have hiked up fuel duty and, broadly, people have been in general agreement with that because it has been seen as a green tax. That is why it was created. An injection of honesty is needed to counteract the feigned anger that has suddenly appeared and the damascene conversion that has taken place among Opposition Members. Everybody supported fuel duty rises over the year, and their position lacks credibility.

I agree with much that is in the Opposition motion. We all have concerns about fuel costs. Obviously I do not agree with the part that asks us to do something that is illegal under EU law. My radical solution to that would be to leave the European Union, but that is a debate for another day. Before we accuse the Opposition of cynicism, it is incumbent on those of us on the Government Benches to prove that the pledges we made at the general election were not cynical. That is why I look forward to the Budget, on which the Chancellor and Chief Secretary are working so hard, and I look forward to the answers on fuel duty. I hope they include a fair fuel duty stabiliser.

I dished out leaflets to the good voters of Brigg and Goole—hounded them with leaflets, one might say—on the fuel duty stabiliser. I supported it, knowing of the work that had gone into that policy at Conservative central office. I look forward to the Budget next week, when I hope we will hear more details about stabiliser. The price of fuel is having a massive impact on my constituents across north Lincolnshire and east Yorkshire. I note the proposals in relation to the islands and I heard the comments from the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil). He has been a passionate advocate on behalf of his constituents. I would say to him if he were here—I know that he is off trying to save coastguards, and I wish him the best of luck on that too—that the effect of fuel prices is not limited to the islands.

Constituents such as mine have to travel an awful long way to their places of work. I represent a largely rural constituency, and most of my constituents travel considerable distances, whether to Lincoln, Leeds, Hull, York or Doncaster. Much of the time they sit in traffic, which is not good for fuel consumption, I am told. The pressures that affect the islands of Scotland and the Scilly Isles affect our constituents too.

[Justin Tomlinson]

I echo the comments of my hon. Friend. My constituency, North Swindon, has a considerable number of commuters who have no choice but to travel by car. The increased fuel costs impact on them as well.

[Andrew Percy]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. What we are both saying is that if any solution is applied to one part of the United Kingdom, it must be applied to other parts of it as well. If we are all about fairness, as I am sure we are, it must be a solution that is fair to everybody in the United Kingdom.

[Simon Hart (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend share my concern for 1,000 dairy farmers in west Wales, who cannot pass on the additional fuel duty to their customers because their milk price is fixed by supermarkets?

[Andrew Percy]

Absolutely. I share that concern for dairy farmers throughout the United Kingdom. I am sure the Minister heard that and I hope he will respond.

My constituency is a logistics hub. We have many transportation firms. A business owner, Paul Emms, came to see me at my surgery in Epworth this weekend. He said that because of fuel prices, he now faces the possibility of laying people off. Rather than contributing tax to the economy, not only has he been stung by tax rises on fuel, but he is putting people out of work whose payroll taxes will be lost and who will have to be funded by the taxpayer through their benefits.

[Sheila Gilmore]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Andrew Percy]

No, I will not. I have taken a couple of interventions already.

Fuel prices are a particular issue to my constituents and to businesses in our area. In our patch we also suffer the problems of rural transport. We have very little rural transport. My local Labour council—this is my dig at it—is proposing to scrap the Axholme shopper bus service, which costs only £13,000 a year to run. A political assistant at the council is still being paid several thousand pounds, but we are losing many of our rural bus subsidies. My constituents are not even in the privileged position of being able to rely on public transport as an alternative.

My plea to the Government is to listen to the genuine concerns that have been expressed. I greatly respect the Economic Secretary. She is one of the Ministers who accepts my invitations to visit Brigg and Goole. I heard what she said, and there seemed to be the possibility of some positive messages coming out of the Budget. My constituents cannot bear the prices as they are.

Figures out today show that the average wage in northern Lincolnshire is much lower than in the rest of the country. We pay a lot for our petrol and we have to drive a long way to get to a petrol station these days. This is a massive problem for my constituents, and I urge the Government to pay heed to the promises that we made at the general election—promises on which I was elected—which included doing something about fuel duty and introducing a fuel duty stabiliser. As I said, I am sure that was a well thought out policy before the election and will be implemented shortly.