Petrol drivers are set to face a significant increase in fuel duty, with charges potentially reaching 58p per litre. Campaigners warn that this change could cost motorists nearly £40,000 over a lifetime, hitting the poorest families the hardest.
According to the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the average household currently spends around £36,285 on fuel duty and related charges over a lifetime, based on 45 years of working and 15 years in retirement. If the fuel duty freeze ends as planned, this figure will climb by £3,400, totaling approximately £39,708 in today’s money.
The bulk of the costs—£31,304—would be paid directly at fuel pumps, while the remaining £8,404 would come from increased prices on goods and services such as deliveries and taxi fares, reflecting the broader economic impact of the duty rise.
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TPA Researcher Anne Strickland commented, “Taxpayers are rightly alarmed at the looming fuel duty hike, given the already sky-high prices they pay at the pump. Households are already handing over tens of thousands of pounds in fuel duty over their lifetime, and pushing ahead with another hike would make an already punishing tax burden even worse, particularly for retirees and those on low incomes.”
Opposition voices have also criticized the move. Conservative Transport Secretary Ricard Holden decried the increase as “another egregious tax,” arguing that it unfairly targets working Britons. Speaking during an Opposition Day debate, Holden stated, “This House has come together to hear of yet another egregious tax on transport pushed out by this Labour Government at a time when people across the country are worried about the cost of getting around.”
He added that the decision to end the 13-year fuel duty freeze maintained by the previous Conservative government was ill-timed. “The Government, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that this is the opportune moment to cancel the fuel duty freeze, once again making it more expensive for hard-working people to get to work, attend appointments, or visit friends and family,” Holden said.