With this being the year of an election and in the face of a recent increases in petrol prices, the chancellor Alistair Darling  today said he will stagger the 3p fuel duty increase that was due to hit motorists from the start of next month. The chancellor told the House of Commons that fuel duty will now rise by just 1p a litre on 1 April. A further penny will be added to the cost of buying a litre of fuel on 1 October, and 0.76p on 1 January 2011.

The April increase alone adds about £38 a year to the typical cost of refilling. Motoring groups such as the AA have campaigned for the original 3p increase to be shelved in the face of a faltering recovery, and following a big jump in wholesale fuel costs. Darling also said he was committed to the fuel duty escalator that will see pump prices rise by inflation plus 1p a litre, each year, between 2011 and 2014.