By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-29 04:05:55 | Updated at 2026-09-29 04:41:09
41 minutes ago
Labour must scrap a planned hike in fuel duty after diesel reached record highs, industry leaders have said.
Chancellor John Healey has been told any increase at the pumps would impact the entire economy, with the Road Haulage Association warning: “A fuel duty hike is a food price hike.”
The RAC said that diesel prices were now in “uncharted territory” after a range of threats saw them soar.
The Iran war has hit oil prices, while attacks on Russian refineries from Ukraine have also affected supply.
President Trump has also mooted a ban on diesel exports to combat rising prices in America.
Richard Smith, Managing Director of the Road Haulage Association, said that diesel was the lifeblood of the industry.
Increasing costs would raise prices on the high street and could see transport firms forced to close their doors, he warned.
While the Government could do little about the global crises, it could control costs through duty, he said.
Fuel duty was cut by 5 pence in 2022. This cut is due to be reversed in the New Year, with a three pence increase in January and a further two pence rise in March.
Writing for GB News, Mr Smith said that the Chancellor must abandon this plan.
He wrote: “With pump prices climbing and impacting all of us, adding fuel duty rises to the mix would be the worst timing possible.
“This will push up costs for the businesses that move goods, and for the households that buy them. Quite simply: A fuel duty hike is a food price hike.
“Our message to the Chancellor is: Don't put fuel duty up. Scrap the rises planned for next year.”
The UK imports around a sixth of its diesel from the States. It also imports 30 per cent of its crude oil from America.
Sources in the fuel sector say that any ban on US diesel exports would increase prices further. But they did not believe the UK would run out.
“Under a ban on finished diesel, the UK doesn’t run out”, one insider told GB News.
“It would just keep making diesel, although it makes it more expensive.”
Writing for GB News, Mr Smith said the Chancellor must abandon this plan
PA
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has warned that an export ban would backfire, with “catastrophic” effects on the global market.
Diesel is processed from crude oil, and its production yields other fuels, including petrol and jet fuel.
If the US stopped exporting diesel, the API said, it would need to stockpile the excess.
Once storage tanks were full, refineries would have to slow down, cutting production of these other vital fuels.
It added: “An export ban would remove the single largest source of global diesel from the market and the consequence could be catastrophic.”
The UK fuel trade body said Trump’s threat showed how vital refineries were to UK energy security.
Five refineries have closed since 2005, with two – Grangemouth and Lindsey – shutting their doors in 2025 alone.
High energy costs and carbon taxes have been cited as reasons. Elizabeth de Jong, Chief Executive of Fuels Industry UK, warned earlier this year that, because of the closures, Britain has gone from being classed as a “low risk / high resilience” nation to “high risk / low resilience” in relation to both diesel and jet fuel.
She said October’s budget must include greater protection for UK refineries.
She said: “The recent discussion in the US around diesel exports has shown once again that we cannot solely rely on overseas production for domestic energy security.
“UK refineries provide critical national resilience, reducing the UK's dependence on international supply chains. But without urgent protection against carbon and investment leakage, more UK refineries will close.
“The Autumn Budget must include measures to level the playing field between UK refiners paying carbon costs that competitor countries do not face.”
The Government says the UK has “diverse and resilient” supplies of fuel and that forecourts were being stocked as normal.
