UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / October 28, 2026 / FairFuelUK welcomes the Fuel Duty freeze but says it is not a cut. Howard Cox calls for further action on soaring pump prices and urges the Prime Minister, Chancellor, and Transport Secretary to meet with him to discuss his forthcoming 20-year transport and mobility strategy for economic growth.

Howard Cox, Founder of FairFuelUK, said:

• “Thank goodness a smidgeon of common sense has prevailed. Freezing Fuel Duty is a victory for drivers, businesses, and sustained campaigning. But let's be absolutely clear: a freeze is not a cut.”
• “Millions of drivers, small businesses, hauliers, farmers and tradespeople are already being battered by painfully high petrol and diesel prices. Simply deciding not to make those prices even worse through higher taxation is the very least the Government should be doing.”
• “For nearly 17 years, FairFuelUK has fought objectively and successfully to keep fuel taxes low and to make politicians understand that drivers are not cash cows. This decision shows that when the government listens to motorists, common sense can prevail.”

113 COUNTRIES HAVE ACTED ON ENERGY COSTS. BRITAIN MUST DO MORE.

FairFuelUK says the Government must look beyond freezing Fuel Duty and consider further action to reduce the impact of high energy and transport costs on households and businesses.

The IEA 2026 Energy Crisis Policy Response Tracker confirms that governments worldwide have adopted measures in response to the current energy crisis, including short-term financial support to reduce costs for households and businesses. [iea.org]

FairFuelUK cites IEA data indicating that by June 2026, 113 countries and the European Commission had introduced policy measures to support consumers and businesses in response to rising energy costs, including 55 countries that adopted taxation measures.

Howard Cox said:

• “If governments around the world can intervene to cushion their citizens and businesses against an energy-price shock, why isn't Britain doing much more?”
• “Freezing Fuel Duty prevents the Treasury from making a bad situation worse. It doesn't reduce the painful prices drivers and businesses are paying at the pumps today.”
• “High diesel prices don't stop at the filling station. They feed through haulage, farming, manufacturing, construction and deliveries and ultimately into the costs faced by households and businesses.”
• “Affordable fuel isn't simply a motorists' issue. It is a cost-of-living issue, a business issue, and an economic-growth issue. Drivers and road transport help create economic activity. They must stop being treated as convenient cash machines whenever the Treasury needs more revenue.”
• “If Ministers are serious about growth, they must get the cost of diesel down. You cannot get Britain growing while making it increasingly expensive to move virtually everything Britain produces, sells and consumes.” 

“IFS WRONG AGAIN: BEFORE ASKING WHAT A FREEZE COSTS WHITEHALL, ASK WHAT A TAX RISE COSTS BRITAIN”

Howard Cox also rejected the conventional description of maintaining lower Fuel Duty as a “cost” to the Exchequer. The Institute for Fiscal Studies response on road and fuel taxation estimated that permanently retaining the full 5p reduction would cost about £2.3 billion a year by 2029-30 relative to the forecasts it was commenting on. [ifs.org.uk]

Howard Cox said:

• “Here we go again. When it comes to Fuel Duty, I sometimes think IFS should stand for the ‘Institute for Fiscal Stupidity’.”
• “The IFS talks about maintaining lower Fuel Duty as a cost to the Exchequer. I look at the other side of the balance sheet: what does taking even more money from motorists, hauliers and businesses cost the wider economy?”
• “The planned increase in punitive fuel taxation is not money that has mysteriously disappeared. If Government doesn't take that additional tax, the money stays with families and businesses, who can spend it, invest it or use it to meet their rising costs.”
• “Before asking what freezing Fuel Duty costs Whitehall, ask what raising Fuel Duty costs Britain.”
• “Why deliberately increase the cost of mobility when you're simultaneously telling us economic growth is the number-one priority? Keep more money circulating in the real economy, reduce pressure on transport costs and give businesses room to grow. It's a no-brainer.”
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BRITAIN NEEDS A 20-YEAR TRANSPORT STRATEGY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

In the coming weeks, Howard Cox will publish his comprehensive 20-year transport and mobility strategy, developed with input from more than 80,000 FairFuelUK supporters, drivers, and public transit users.

The strategy will make the case for a transport policy that places economic growth, productivity, mobility, affordability, and fairness at the center of a long-term national plan.

Howard Cox said:

• “Britain cannot continue to run its transportation system from Budget to Budget and crisis to crisis. We need a long-term transportation strategy grounded in one fundamental economic truth: mobility drives growth.”
• “In the coming weeks, I will publish my comprehensive 20-year transportation and mobility strategy, informed by more than 80,000 drivers and public transit users.”
• “This isn't about choosing motorists over public transportation, roads over rail, or existing vehicles over new technologies. It is about creating an efficient, affordable, and properly integrated transportation system that makes it easier to move people and goods around Britain.”
• “If we improve mobility, reduce unnecessary transportation costs, and make our networks more efficient, we can help businesses become more productive, help people access jobs and opportunities, and contribute to the economic growth Britain desperately needs.”

MY CHALLENGE TO MPs AND THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA

Howard Cox is calling on MPs, policymakers, and the mainstream media to judge the forthcoming strategy by its proposals and the benefits it could deliver, rather than by traditional political or transport divides.

He said:

• “My challenge to MPs and the mainstream media is simple: judge this strategy by the evidence and by what it can deliver.”
• “If we can make Britain's transport system more efficient, affordable, and integrated, their constituents, readers, and viewers benefit. Businesses benefit. Communities benefit. And above all, the economy benefits.”
• “This isn't a motorists-versus-public-transport plan. It is a plan to get Britain moving.”

PRIME MINISTER, CHANCELLOR AND TRANSPORT SECRETARY: PLEASE MEET ME

Howard Cox is formally asking the Prime Minister, Chancellor, and Transport Secretary to meet him following the publication of the strategy to discuss how its proposals could contribute to economic growth, productivity, affordable mobility, and a lower cost of living.

Howard Cox said:

• “I am publicly asking the Prime Minister, Chancellor, and Transport Secretary to meet with me. Not for a photo opportunity or political point-scoring, but for a serious discussion about how transport and mobility can help deliver the economic growth Britain desperately needs.”
• “For nearly 17 years, I have worked at the sharp end of transport campaigning, listening to drivers and businesses and dealing directly with politicians and policymakers.”
• “My forthcoming strategy draws on that experience and combines it with input from more than 80,000 people who use our roads and public transport.”
• “I will bring the strategy. I will bring the evidence. I will bring the views of tens of thousands of transport users. All I ask of Government is an open mind and a willingness to listen.”
• “The Fuel Duty freeze shows that Government can listen to drivers. Now let's have the bigger conversation about how we get Britain moving and make transport a catalyst for economic growth.”

FAIRFUELUK IS CALLING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO:

• Maintain the Fuel Duty freeze and protect the 5p-per-litre reduction.
• Take further action to reduce the burden of exceptionally high petrol and diesel prices.
• Give PumpWatch real teeth and increase scrutiny and accountability throughout the fuel supply chain.
• Consider targeted fiscal measures capable of reducing the impact of elevated fuel costs on families and businesses.
• Recognise affordable and efficient road transport as an important contributor to productivity and economic growth.
• Engage seriously with Howard Cox's forthcoming 20-year transport and mobility strategy.
• Meet Howard Cox to discuss the proposals and how transport policy can help get Britain growing again.

HOWARD COX'S MESSAGE TO GOVERNMENT

“Freeze the tax. Bring down pump prices. Stop treating drivers as cash cows. Then sit down with me and let's build a transport system that gets Britain moving and our economy growing for the next 20 years.”

ENDS

The IEA 2026 Energy Crisis Policy Response Tracker says governments have taken a range of measures in response to the current energy crisis, including short-term energy-saving actions and financial support intended to lower costs for households and businesses. [iea.org]

Source: International Energy Agency, 2026 Energy Crisis Policy Response Tracker.