Nine in ten drivers back Hunt’s plan to slap electric cars with road taxes – and beg him NOT to hike fuel duty

NINE in ten drivers back Jeremy Hunt’s plan to slap electric car owners with road taxes on Thursday – but begged him NOT to hike fuel duty on Thursday.

A staggering one in four have cut down their journey to save cash because of the soaring price of fuel.

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93 per cent called on the Chancellor to slash fuel duty in his first crunch statement this week, according to an exclusive poll of 70,000 motorists by FairFuelUK.

Respondents ranked the cost of living crisis as their top priority they want ministers to focus on delivering, too.

It comes after Rishi Sunak hinted to The Sun he won’t hike fuel duty next week – in a huge boost for our Keep It Down campaign.

But The Chancellor is eyeing up how to plug a huge hole in the finances by considering slapping road taxes on electric car users.

Fuel has come down since the eye-watering summer prices, but are now seeing an uptick again – last week at 190.31p for diesel and 165.96 for petrol.

FairFuel’s Howard Cox said last night: “Jeremy Hunt must wake up to reality, and be a real Tory this week.

“Consumer tax incentives, not punitive tax hikes, are the only way forward to boosting the economy.

“More money in all our pockets is the route forward out of this needless recession and to pay down the nation’s debt. It’s time to cut fuel duty big.”

And Tory MP Craig Mackinlay told The Sun: “I welcome the fact that EVs may now face a new road tax to properly reflect their share of road use and damage.

“But now must be the time for a bold move on petrol and diesel fuel taxation to further reduce inflation, lowering future interest costs and providing growth to the whole economy.

“Be bold, Chancellor!”

Meanwhile, plumbers, electricians, and other workers are all set to suffer as the cost of diesel has risen a whopping 45p per litre since this time last year, new stats show.

Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh said: “This is a savage extra cost for millions of working people, who are being crippled by soaring prices.

“Working people are paying the price for a crisis made in Downing Street, while Tory ministers let the oil and gas giants off the hook.”