A Suffolk MP has said he was 'happy to have played my small role' after the Government announced that it had scrapped plans for a rise in fuel prices.
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer called the 5p increase in fuel duty, which was set to come into effect from September, 'disastrous' as he wrote to Rachel Reeves on behalf of hundreds of Suffolk residents.
The Government announced that the 5p rise in fuel duty would be postponed until next year due to pressures from the Iran War at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, May 20.
In April, Mr Spencer wrote to the Chancellor after more than 300 people in Suffolk signed a petition asking for the increase to be scrapped.
After news broke of the Government's decision, Mr Spencer said: "The decision by this Labour Prime Minister to pause any plan to scrap the 5p freeze in fuel duty is very welcome here in Suffolk.
"We are a rural community, reliant on our vehicles to get us to and from work, between jobs and customers, and for the school run. The price of petrol and diesel had already risen as a result of the war in Iran. Any measure that increases duty on fuel, a tax on motorists, would have been disastrous.
“I am happy to have played my small role, advocating for this change. We set up a petition which garnered 300+ signatures, I wrote to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves on behalf of my constituents, and I am relieved the Government saw sense and changed course.
"I only hope now the Treasury realise that raising taxes is economically disastrous. They should have never considered it in the first place. If they want to grow the economy, so we can genuinely afford public services, they cannot keep increasingly raising taxes."
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