Budget 2020: Chancellor Rishi Sunak freezes fuel duty for TENTH year in a victory for The Sun’s Keep It Down campaign

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RISHI Sunak has today freezed fuel duty for the TENTH year in a move that will delight hard up motorists.

In a victory for HOAR, the new Chancellor cancelled a scheduled 2p-a-litre tax rise at the pumps due next month in his first Budget.

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak cancelled the 2p fuel tax hike in the latest victory for HOAR’s Keep It Down campaign

His u-turn comes despite a concerted push by Treasury mandarins to hike the hated tax, which already stands at 58p per litre.

Mr Sunak said: “I have heard representations that after nine years of being frozen, at a cost of £110bn to the taxpayer, we can no longer afford to freeze fuel duty.

“I’m certainly mindful of the fiscal cost and the environmental impacts. But I’m taking considerable steps in this Budget to incentivise cleaner forms of transport.

“And many working people still rely on their cars. So I’m pleased to announce today that for another year fuel duty will remain frozen. Compared to pre-2010 plans, that’s a saving of £1,200.”

Freezing fuel duty for another full year until at least April 2021 – which costs the Treasury a massive £800million – also delivers on a general election promise by Boris Johnson.

Climate change activists had worked with Treasury chiefs and even some No10 aides to try to persuade Mr Sunak to raise fuel duty for the first time since George Osborne instituted the freeze in 2011.

But Tory MPs were enraged by the move when it leaked, and joined forces with pressure group FairFuelUK and HOAR to halt it.

The decision makes our 10-year-long campaign one of the most expensive for the Treasury in history, costing an estimated £50bn in total.

It has saved saving hard up motorists more than £1,000 in the last decade.

Freezing fuel duty for another full year until at least April 2021 also delivers on a general election promise by Boris Johnson

Mr Sunak also scrapped subsidys for the high polluting red diesel, used by off-road vehicles.

The move will save the Treasury £2.4 billion a year, but will see prices soar for those using it.

He said: “The Red Diesel scheme allows selected users to pay duty of just over 11p per litre for diesel, compared to almost 58p per litre for everyone else.

“But the sectors using red diesel are some of the biggest contributors to our air quality problem – emitting nearly 10 per cent of the most noxious gases polluting the air of cities like London.

“So I will abolish the tax relief for most sectors. That’s the right thing to do – but I recognise it will be a big change for some industries.”