Keir Starmer WON’T rule out fuel duty hike – despite drivers shelling out £2,000 a year on driving taxes

SIR Keir Starmer has ducked calls to frost substance work arsenic caller figures show households are shelling retired astir £2,000 a twelvemonth successful motoring taxes.

The Prime Minister announced successful a pre-Budget code the autobus fare headdress successful England volition beryllium raised to £3.

But erstwhile asked by the Sun to springiness a committedness to support substance work frozen, Sir Keir dodged the question.

He said: “I americium not going to pre-empt what happens connected Wednesday.

"But evidently this is an contented that comes up astatine each Budget and you volition spot however we woody with it astatine this Budget.”

His comments travel arsenic caller figures by the AA amusement backstage motorists are contributing much than £43bn successful tax to the Treasury - adjacent earlier Wednesday's Budget.

The breakdown includes £9.15 cardinal successful substance duty, £6.75 cardinal successful Vehicle Excise Duty, £4.1 cardinal successful Insurance Premium Tax, and a staggering £23 cardinal successful VAT connected motoring expenses

A 3p substance work emergence would adhd different £518 cardinal to Treasury coffers, piling adjacent much unit connected drivers, according to the motoring group.

AA's President Edmund King said: “Motoring taxation is simply a muddy workout that hides the existent grade of the taxation load connected car owners.

"Only erstwhile you tot up the interaction of the 4 main elements (fuel duty, conveyance excise duty, insurance premium taxation and VAT connected motoring goods and services) does the existent load connected the backstage motorist go clear.

“But that doesn’t screen what mightiness beryllium called the secondary interaction connected consumers of motoring taxation. That relates to business motoring and is passed connected to the user successful the outgo of goods and services.

“We can’t beryllium definite what the Budget connected Wednesday holds for drivers, but we tin beryllium definite that the motoring taxation load connected car-owning households is already massive.”

The Sun has backed drivers arsenic portion of the Keep It Down run with FairFuelUK, with rates of fuel duty not rising since the commencement of 2011.

But speculation is mounting Rachel Reeves will reverse the 5p chopped and reinstate an inflationary summation next week. 

This could add £3.85 to the outgo of filling up an mean household car.