Fuel Prices

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. The loss of pumps is an incredibly important issue, as is the loss of all the other services that are going such as pubs and shops. Currently, my neighbour, who has Parkinson’s disease, has to travel for two and a half hours to see a neurologist in Newcastle, and our schoolchildren are travelling further and further. There are things we can do to deal effectively with these problems, including with broadband and smart metering. It is a real disgrace that we have not sorted out smart metering. There is much better technology available. However, I should like to make a small plea for an extension, as rapidly as possible, of the 5p rebate that is currently offered in the highlands and islands to other sparsely populated areas of Britain.

[Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman is making a rural point and that there are all sorts of issues about bridges and roads and the amount that goes into them, certainly in Lancashire. However, on his point about unfairness, was it not a previous Tory Minister who said, “When it doesn’t fit, get on your bike and get somewhere else”?

[Rory Stewart]

The hon. Gentleman will be astonished to discover that I disagree very strongly with the idea that the solution to problems of rural isolation is to “get on one’s bike and move somewhere else.” Our rural communities are the lifeblood of this country. When we think about our rural areas, we think about this country. Farming communities and all the other forms of rural community have a value that goes well beyond their economic value. We would be terribly sorry to lose them.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I begin by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) for working so hard with colleagues and with the public to secure this vital debate, which affects not only drivers, but every citizen in this country. Virtually everything we consume is carried by road, so when the cost of fuel increases, we all feel the extra burden. When we do our weekly shop, when we pop down the local pub for a swift half or when we buy virtually anything else, we notice that the cost has increased. That is why, in my response to the Chancellor’s last Budget, I said in the House that my constituents would have breathed a sigh of relief when the Chancellor scrapped the duty escalator increase programmed into the Budget by the previous Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling).

[Graham Jones]

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point that family budgets are under pressure. The subject of the debate is important to my constituents—I received about 60 letters. Does he agree, though, that the increase in VAT to 20% is hitting family budgets and adding £450 to the average family’s tax bill?

[Mr Jones]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comment. Like many Opposition Members, he is presenting a confused view of things. His party did not vote against the VAT increase. One minute the Opposition seem to want a VAT reduction only on fuel, which would be difficult to achieve because of the situation with the EU. In fact, as has been pointed out, it would be illegal. The next minute the Opposition want a full VAT cut, which I find strange. It is yet another uncosted policy to add to the other five points in the five-point plan. Perhaps we should call it the six-point plan for bankruptcy that the Labour party is advocating.

I remind the House that in the last Budget the Chancellor also cut 1p off the price of a litre of fuel. Although that is a small cut, it was welcomed by many. Thus at the last Budget the Chancellor saved the motorist from an impending increase of about 26p a gallon. That move showed that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor had listened to the people of the country and the FairFuelUK and other campaigns that have lobbied MPs and the Government in a reasoned, fair and pragmatic fashion. My right hon. Friend was probably wise to listen, because we all know now that certain surveys tell us that 85% of the public think the cost of fuel is hurting people and businesses.

I sincerely thank the Chancellor for taking that course of action. I hope that after today’s debate the Minister will pass on to the Chancellor the comments made by Members, and that he will think very hard, as he did before, and try to mitigate or not put through the increases in fuel duty programmed in for 2012.

[Graham Jones]

rose—

[Mr Jones]

I will not give way, as other Members want to get in.