The chancellor has held fuel duty in today’s Autumn Statement meaning no rise for a fifth year running but could have gone further, according to FairFuelUK (FFUK).

FFUK, which released new CEBR research ahead of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review, said while no increase was welcome the chancellor “could have been more courageous for the economy's sake and cut it by 3ppl”.

Quentin Willson, spokesman for FairFuelUK, said: "Our intense lobbying, campaigning and empirical economic evidence that cutting duty is good for the whole economy has resonated with the chancellor. We are grateful to him for the continuing freeze that’s lasted five years.

"But let’s not forget the UK motorist remains the highest levied tax contributor in Europe. Be warned, this is probably now a fiscal platform for him to increase duty in the April Budget.’

The CEBR report conducted for FFUK calculated that lower pump prices during 2015 will have generated £1.3bn more in tax revenues for the Treasury this year.

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