Open letter to Julian Sturdy MP on the fuel duty escalator

Julian Sturdy MP

House of Commons, London

Dear Mr Sturdy,

Sometimes it is unpopular to do the right thing, but that is what genuine leadership takes.  I am therefore writing to you to ask you to do something which is likely to be unpopular, but which is vital.

I am writing to ask you to press the Chancellor of the Exchequer to raise fuel duty by more than the rate of inflation in the forthcoming budget.  We know that global warming is the greatest threat that faces humanity worldwide, and we know that we need to vastly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that we produce if we are to prevent catastrophic global warming that would leave much of York under water.

There is very strong evidence that fuel usage is at least partially elastic (ie usage in part reflects cost).  We have also seen a significant reduction in the cost of fuel, with the fall in the price of crude oil.  In order to encourage a reduction in the use of petrol and diesel we need to use all the methods available including improving public transport, encouraging more walking and cycling (for instance to get to school) and raising the price of fuel.  There can be no better time than now to increase fuel duty as it will be less problematic for consumers given the fall in prices over the last few months and it will help to raise revenue to enable us to preserve essential services such as the NHS and education.

I hope that you will press the Chancellor of the Exchequer to raise fuel duty.

Best wishes

Tom.

Tom Franklin
4 Frazer Court
York
YO30 5FH

email:    tom@franklin-consulting.co.uk