PRA gives qualified welcome to Chancellor’s ‘pledge’

The Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) has welcomed the announcement that the Chancellor George Osborne MP has pledged in his keynote speech at the Conservative party’s annual conference, to freeze fuel duty until the next election in May 2015, meaning that the planned duty rise of 2 pence per litre in September 2014 is unlikely to go ahead.

Brian Madderson, Chairman of the PRA comments: “The PRA has been lobbying Government and the Treasury to make an early announcement about their intentions on freezing fuel duty, so it is welcoming news to hear the Chancellor’s commitment. It will be the longest period of duty freeze (four years, four months), in over 40 years if the announcement goes ahead as planned.

“Although this is a step in the right direction, it is disappointing that the announcement was dampened with a comment by George Osborne saying, ‘provided we can find the savings to pay for it’. The PRA will continue to liaise with government and we hope to see further developments in due course”.