A Brighton MP has urged the Chancellor to help hard-pressed families hit by rising fuel costs.
Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown, raised the issue with the Chancellor, George Osborne, at a meeting in the House of Commons earlier today.
Mr Kirby said: “I was pleased to have the opportunity to speak to George Osborne regarding the ever-rising cost of petrol.
“Many people rely on the family car to get to work and get their children to school.
“The Conservatives promised to review the fuel taxation system before the election and I reminded George of that issue.
“It is important the coalition government does all it can to help families with their fuel costs during this uncertain time in the Middle East, which is having a detrimental effect on the cost of oil and forcing petrol prices higher.”
Mr Kirby pressed the case for drivers a day after Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, criticised the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition’s record on fossil fuels.
She said that the coalition’s true colours on the environment would be revealed in the budget in two weeks’ time (Wednesday 23 March).
She was responding to the government’s publication of its draft Carbon Plan and said: “As a shallow compilation of the energy and climate policies already outlined by government, the Carbon Plan does the job.
“But it contains little that is new, and the real depth of the coalition’s commitment is yet to be revealed in this year’s budget.
”Some government departments clearly take their environmental responsibilities more seriously than others.
“So the Carbon Plan’s aspiration for more recognition of the ambition needed to meet the UK’s emissions reductions targets should be welcomed.”
When driving is your business the high price of fuel really hits home. We have customers with fleets of 20 to 1500 vehicles – surely prices should come down soon