Blair stands firm on fuel duty

Queues in York, but the government unmoved

The prime minister has ruled out cutting fuel duty, despite blockades and protests around the country against high prices.

We cannot and we will not alter government policy on petrol through blockades and pickets

That's not the way to make policy in Britain and as far as I'm concerned it never will be

Tony Blair

Tony Blair said the government understood and shared the concerns of businesses and motorists, but blamed the recent rises on increases in world oil prices.

He admitted that Labour had increased duty in its first two years in office, but said that had been a necessary step to "sort out" the economy.

The Conservatives, however, said Labour should re-think its policy on fuel taxes.

Mr Blair said the government would not be influenced by the blockades: "That's not the way to make policy in Britain and as far as I'm concerned it never will be."

The prime minister said that the only way to deal with the problem was to put pressure on Opec to increase production - which he said was the position of every government in the industrialised world.

Tory attacks

But Conservatives called for a rethink on tax rises on fuel.

The time has come for the government to think again about its strategy of... exploiting the oil price increase as a source of revenue

Archie Norman

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Andrew Lansley said: "We think the time has come to consider what the implications are in terms of public finances of the windfall gains from the increase in oil prices.

"Clearly it would have to be done in a way that didn't prejudice the long-term future of revenues from petrol duties and it would have to be done responsibly," he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One.

He said his party would not have introduced "stealth taxes" on fuel.

Shadow transport secretary Archie Norman said: "The time has come for the government to think again about its strategy of taxing the motorist and exploiting the oil price increase as a source of revenue."

Fuel taxes 'lower now'

Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers said earlier that petrol taxes were lower in percentage terms now than they had been when Labour came to office.

The minister pointed out that one year ago, crude oil was around $10 a barrel, now it was more than $30 - that was the real reason prices had gone up.

He also said that people who wanted to cut fuel duty should be asked where they wanted to make spending cuts, as 2p off a litre of petrol was equivalent to £1bn off public spending.

Union leader Sir Ken Jackson, general secretary of the AEEU union, said the government should cut the price of fuel.

"This is a self-inflicted wound that we don't need. Industry has enough problems with the strong pound and weak euro and this is one problem we needn't have inflicted on ourselves," he said.

Contingency plans

Mr Byers also said there was no danger of supplies drying up, that shortages at the pumps were being caused by panic buying, not the protests.

He said that contingency plans were in place to maintain essential services: "There are always measures that the government has... There is a stand-by procedure which could be used if need be."

Mr Byers said that the government expected the police to ensure that the blockades did not stop fuel supplies from flowing.

He said: "There is a very important point of principle here. In Britain, questions of taxation are decided in the Budget. They are not decided by blockades in the streets."