Price of petrol

A bitter political row has erupted over the 1p cut in fuel duty announced in yesterday’s Budget.

Chancellor George Osborne introduced a fuel stabiliser to keep petrol prices down, cutting fuel duty by 1p instead of implementing the scheduled 5p rise.

To fund this price cut, Mr Osborne announced a £2 billion levy on North Sea oil companies.

But Labour have claimed that oil companies will merely recuperate their losses from the extra tax by raising petrol prices, negating the proposed cost-of-living savings for families.