Cumbrian MP calls for fuel duty cuts in rural areas

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a fuel duty cut in rural areas

Households in places like Cumbria pay almost £40 more a week than people in urban areas according to analysis by the Liberal Democrats - which also showed households in rural areas paid £114 in transport costs each week in the year to March 2020, which equates to around £2k per year.

The party is calling for an expansion of the rural fuel duty relief scheme in Cumbria, Devon, Cornwall, Shropshire and Wales.

It's currently offered in a handful of remote areas of the UK, to places where "public transport options are limited and drivers are being disproportionately hit by rising fuel prices".

The Lib Dems also want the relief to be doubled to 10p a litre.

Tim Farron, the party's rural affairs spokesman, said: "The Government must act now to help rural families on the brink, by expanding the fuel duty relief scheme.

"Ministers need to also crack down on the petrol profiteers who are cashing in on people's misery at the pump."

It comes as the Business Secretary has ordered an "urgent" investigation into petrol station operators amid concerns some are pocketing the multibillion-pound cut to fuel duty announced by the Chancellor in March.

In a letter to the Competition and Markets Authority, Kwasi Kwarteng wrote that people were "rightly frustrated" that the 5p-a-litre reduction had not stopped prices from soaring.

A Government spokesperson said: "We understand that people are struggling with rising prices which is why we have acted to protect the eight million most vulnerable British families through at least £1,200 of direct payments this year with additional support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits.

"Through our £37 billion support package we are also saving the typical employee over £330 a year through a tax cut in July, allowing people on Universal Credit to keep £1,000 more of what they earn and cutting fuel duty by 5p saving a typical family £100."

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