Drivers won’t accept being ‘cash cows’, warned Jeremy Hunt as he mulls fuel duty hike

DRIVERS will not accept being “cash cows”, the Chancellor is warned as he mulls a fuel duty hike.

Two dozen Tory MPs have written to Jeremy Hunt to demand the levy is either reduced or remains frozen.

Ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel, leading the group, said such a move would “provide an enormous relief and much-needed certainty” during a cost of living squeeze.

The letter says: “Given the impact fuel costs have on prices more widely, a freeze or reduction will help the Government meet its priorities to halve inflation and grow the economy.”

The group claimed the fuel duty freeze introduced in 2011 has been one of the Government’s most successful policies.

And they reckon Labour sees motorists as “cash cows”.

Drivers face paying £3billion extra when they fill up if Mr Hunt reverses a 5p fuel duty cut brought in by Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor last year.

The Office for Budget Responsibility in November forecast a 12p rise in petrol and diesel if the Chancellor did not act.

That would mean an extra £8 to fill up the tank of an average family car — and an extra £20 for White Van Man.

Howard Cox, founder of FairFuel UK, last night said: “Cut this regressive tax and put money back into consumers’ pockets.”