Jonathan Gullis MP is demanding Government scrap any plans to increase fuel duty in next month’s Budget to stop hard working families across Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke being hit at the pump.
Jonathan is among a group of Conservative MPs calling for new Chancellor Rishi Sunak to confirm he has no plans to up the price after recent reports have claimed an inflation-linked 2p per litre rise could be announced as part of the financial statement on March 11.
Jonathan said: “Any increase in duty would send out the entirely wrong message to the millions of blue collar workers who lent us their vote, many for the first time, at December’s General Election.
“Many of my constituents rely on driving as a source of income and therefore working-class individuals in constituencies like mine will be hardest hit. This is in addition to the families who use cars to get to work, their children to school and have no choice to use their car to provide for their family. The Conservative Party should be supporting these people, not setting them back.”
In an open letter to Mr Sunak, the MPs - who are all part of the Blue Collar Conservatism group - said raising taxes was the wrong message to send out.
Jonathan added: “Any decision to scrap the fuel duty freeze must be seen for what it is: a tax rise which would hit our blue collar communities hardest. Increasing fuel duty would show these communities that this People’s Government does not actually have, at its heart, the priorities of the people.”