Jim has welcomed Chancellor George Osborne’s decision this week to freeze fuel duty until the end of the year.

The Government inherited a series of fuel duty rises from the last Labour government planned for last year and this year which it has scrapped or delayed. Following recent action in last year’s Budget and Autumn Statement to cut fuel duty and scrap Labour’s fuel duty ‘escalator’, this week the Conservative Chancellor cancelled Labour’s 3p per litre rise planned for August this year.

Jim said: “I know that in the current economic climate household budgets are being stretched and that in our rural community running a car is often an essential part of life. I am therefore delighted that the Government has listened to the concerns of hardworking families and businesses over high fuel costs and chosen to delay this planned fuel duty increase.

Thanks to the Conservatives in Government, fuel duty has now been frozen for two years; fuel duty is now 10p per litre lower than the previous Government planned, and motorists will now save £159 on filling up the average family car by the end of the year. This has got to be good news!”