Planned 5p increase pushed back amid Middle East conflict
THE UK Government has announced it will postpone the planned 5p duty increase on fuel as concerns continue to mount over rising petrol and diesel prices.
Announced on 20 May, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government would extend the fuel duty freeze for “the rest of the year” in a bid to ease the worries of UK motorists.
He said: “We are backing drivers by extending the freeze in fuel duty for the rest of the year. This is possible because of the decisions taken by the Chancellor.”
Fuel duty was initially cut in the Spring Statement 2022 under the Conservative government and has been extended repeatedly, despite the fact it was only meant to last 12 months.
The current UK Government has said this extension comes amid the ongoing US-Israeli conflict in Iran which has thrown global markets into disarray and seen fuel costs rocket upwards in recent months.
This has been further highlighted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which announced on 20 April that fuel costs have reached their highest rate since 2022.
According to the ONS, the average price of petrol sat at 156.8 pence per litre (ppl) at the end of April, representing a rise of 16.6ppl between the end of March and the end of April. The ONS said this was the highest price recorded since November 2022 when petrol prices rose upwards due to the war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, diesel prices sat at an average of 190ppl in April 2026, up 31.1ppl from the end of March. This was the highest price recorded since July 2022, when it was at 197.9ppl.
Ahead of the UK Government’s announcement, the RAC had called on the Chancellor to postpone the planned 5p increase in fuel duty and argued that it would help take some pressure off motorists.
Simon Williams, head of policy at RAC, said: “If the Chancellor decides to keep fuel duty at the current rate of 52.95p per litre, it will be a relief for drivers as our research shows they have been struggling with the higher cost of filling up.”
