Anne Marie Morris
Main Page: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)Department Debates - View all Anne Marie Morris's debates with the HM Treasury
Motoring Fuel Costs
Anne Marie Morris Excerpts(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Robert Halfon
I agree that that should happen. I also have another proposal, which I will set out later. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his work on fuel prices in a debate in the main Chamber some months ago.
Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) (Con)
My hon. Friend is being very generous in giving way.
Although the focus has very much been on the individual motorist, we have spoken a little about small business. If we combine the issues of rural businesses and micro-businesses, they are the ones that are badly hit. That is where we need the economy to grow. As for the range of prices, my hon. Friend talked about an average of £1.36 a litre, but in fact it is between £1.30 and £1.51, mostly in rural areas.
Robert Halfon
My hon. Friend is right. I will set out in a minute what the Federation of Small Businesses says about how the fuel price is crushing business and economic growth.
In total, my town is spending at least £63 million a year on petrol, of which about £40 million is tax. That does not even include gas and electricity bills, which are spiralling out of control. The budget of my local council is only £13.5 million a year. Imagine if people could keep even a fraction of that money in their pockets, to spend on the local economy, rather than giving it away to big oil companies, foreign countries and, dare I say it, the Treasury. However, I welcome what the Chancellor has done so far. When he refused to implement Labour’s petrol tax of 4p in April, and cut duty by 1p, he saved Harlow motorists at least £2.5 million every year, putting fuel into the tank of the British economy when we need it most.