Rishi Sunak today prompted speculation he could cut fuel duty but admitted “it’s not going to be easy” as millions of Brits plunge into fuel poverty.
The Tory Chancellor said “where we can make a difference, of course we will” ahead of Wednesday’s Spring Statement - and an avalanche of cost-of-living rises on April 1.
National Insurance is up, inflation including petrol prices is soaring, energy bills are going up £693 with another rise in October, and Tory ministers are freezing income tax thresholds in a £20bn stealth tax.
Mr Sunak did not rule out cutting fuel duty or raising the threshold at which people pay National Insurance, sparing some of the poorest workers.
He revealed he has set up a cost of living unit in the Treasury - amid suggestions he could raise the £150 council tax rebate or £200 repayable discount off energy bills.
He also claimed he would be lowering taxes by 2024 - after raising the tax burden to its highest in 70 years.
Yet the only policy the Chancellor has actually announced so far is a demand for the NHS to make £4.75bn of “efficiency” savings to cut “waste” in a move reminiscent of austerity.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour would not vote against a fuel duty cut - but warned Sky News: “Even a 5p reduction in fuel duty will only reduce filling up the car with petrol by £2.
"So I don't think that really rises to the scale of the challenge we face at the moment, which is why we are calling for a windfall tax on the big profits being made by North Sea oil and gas companies right now."
Mr Sunak admitted he could not “fully protect” Brits, saying “I can’t pretend it’s going to be easy.”
He told the BBC : “The steps we’ve taken to sanction Russia are not cost free for us here at home.
“I want to be honest with people that it’s not going to be easy.
“I wish government could solve absolutely every problem, that I could fully protect people against all the challenges that lie ahead. I can’t do that.
“What I would say is I will stand by them in the same way I have done over the past couple of years. Where we can make a difference, of course we will.”
Asked if he is going to step in during the next months and years of rising energy costs he replied: “Of course I am, and people can judge me by my actions.”
He tried to dampen fears the energy bills price cap will rise by another £600 in October, saying: “We don’t know [yet] and I don’t want people to be scared.”
But he dodged saying whether the number of people in fuel poverty will rise, replying: “I think the things we’re putting in place will make a difference.”
Rishi Sunak is not expected to announce major changes to his policies in Wednesday’s Spring Statement despite the crisis.
TV’s Money Saving Expert issued a desperate direct plea to Chancellor Rishi Sunak ahead of Wednesday’s Spring Statement to offer more help to the poorest Brits.
He told BBC Sunday Morning people are “genuinely choosing between whether they starve and whether they freeze” and the Chancellor should “suck in his ideology to fix it”.
Conservative MP Robert Halfon said it was "absolutely vital" the Government cut fuel duty to ease the cost of living crisis.
Asked about action on fuel duty, Mr Sunak said: "Obviously I can't comment on specific things.
“But what I would say, I understand that, I have a rural constituency, people are incredibly reliant on their cars and this is one of the biggest bills that people face, watching it go up, right, we're all seeing that, when we're filling up our cars.
"I get that, that's why we've frozen fuel duty already, I announced that in autumn, it's the 11th consecutive year of fuel duty freezes and that really helps people, I know that."
Ms Reeves said the rise in energy prices meant Labour's windfall tax concept would raise more money than first anticipated, adding: "When I first said there should be a windfall tax back in January, we thought it would raise about £1.2 billion but since then oil and gas prices have increased substantially and that surcharge, that windfall tax would now bring in about £3.7 billion.
"Instead of carrying on down the path this Chancellor is going on, he should look again at Labour's proposals for a windfall tax and use that to keep bills low for everybody else."
