Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed in the Budget there will be no rise in fuel duty this September.

Speaking today at parliament, Osborne said he had "listened" and name checked PetrolPromise.com founder Robert Halfon MP and Alan Reid, MP for Argyll and Bute (Conservative and Liberal Democrat respectively) as he revealed the planned 3ppl increase had been shelved.

The chancellor said that the decision over the past two years to freeze fuel duty, had meant fuel was 13ppl cheaper presently than it would have been if no action had been taken. He added this was equivalent to £6bn in tax revenue not taken.

The RHA has welcomed the chancellor’s decision to cancel fuel duty. But the fact remains that UK hauliers are still paying the highest levels of fuel duty in Europe.

“We urged a “no increase” announcement and the chancellor delivered – although we would have liked him to go further by cutting diesel duty,” said RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning.

“This is another massive achievement for the road haulage industry and the FairFuelUK campaign, which the RHA co-founded three years ago," he said.

Halfon said he was glad the chancellor had listened to hard-pressed hauliers and businesses alike as fuel duty remained a "toxic tax".

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