MPs to debate fuel prices

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MPs will today participate in a full-scale debate over the issue of fuel prices, after more than 105,000 people signed an e-petition calling for a Westminster debate.

The debate was brought to the backbench business committee by Robert Halfon (Con, Harlow).

So far more than 100 MPs of all parties, including 83 Conservatives and five Liberal Democrats, have signed the motion which does not represent government policy.

Halfon tells us why MPs will later today debate the motion urging the government to stem fuel price rises.

• Why is the motion being debated?

This is the most pressing issue facing the country. It is the biggest break on economic growth, as businesses are going bust because they cannot afford the price of petrol, leading to thousands of redundancies.

High petrol prices are crucifying families, crucifying businesses and causing public transport xosts to rise considerably. It is creating a poverty trap.

• Why has it taken so long to reach the floor of the House?

It took about six weeks to get the petition to reach over 100,000 signatories. Inevitably it is then up to the backbench business committee to decide on business, who have time constraints set on them from government.

I had to take the issue three times to the committee to demand time for a debate. The committee chair Natascha Engel was outstanding; I would have gone to the committee every week for the next five years if I had to. This debate is soimportant.

• What would you like to see as the outcome of the debate?

The motion has now been signed by over 100 MPs from all parties, calling for the government to look at introducing a fair fuel stabiliser, and also toconsider very seriously the effect of high fuel taxes on the economy – and to note the fact that actually the government is getting less revenue, as people are unable to drive their cars.

Motion in full:

"That this House welcomes the 1p cut in fuel duty at the 2011 Budget, the abolition of the fuel tax escalator, the establishment of a fair fuel stabiliser and the government's acknowledgement that high petrol and diesel prices are a serious problem; notes that in the context of the government's efforts to tackle the deficit and put the public finances on a sustainable path, ensuring stable tax revenues is vital for sustainable growth; however, believes that high fuel prices are causing immense difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises vital to economic recovery; further notes reports that some low-paid workers are paying a tenth of their income just to fill up the family car and that high fuel prices are particularly damaging for the road freight industry; considers that high rates of fuel duty may have led to lower tax revenues in recent years, after reports from leading motoring organisations suggested that fuel duty revenues were at least £1bn lower in the first six months of 2011 compared with 2008; and calls on the government to consider the effect that increased taxes on fuel will have on the economy, examine ways of working with industry to ensure that falls in oil prices are passed on to consumers, to take account of market competitiveness, and to consider the feasibility of a price stabilisation mechanism that would work alongside the fair fuel stabiliser to address fluctuations in the pump price."