Nottinghamshire’s Reform MPs say their party would look to reduce fuel prices across the country following a stunt at a rural petrol station.
Amid heckling from a Green Party demonstration, Lee Anderson and Robert Jenrick announced that the price of petrol at the Gulf petrol station on Southwell Road, Lowdham, would be slashed by 13p a litre, while diesel was cut by 16p.
The one-off price reduction would only last for Tuesday, 14 April, and was paid for by Reform UK in a bid to “send a message” to Chancellor Rachel Reeves over rising fuel prices.
The party is calling on the government for the ‘emergency’ halving of fuel VAT for three months in response to soaring fuel prices since the Iran war started.
As cars began to queue up along Southwell Road for the cheaper fuel, Mr Jenrick also discussed the party’s plans to ditch Labour’s planned 5p fuel duty hike, which is set to come in in September.
Mr Jenrick said people were ‘suffering’ across Nottinghamshire and the rest of the country due to rising fuel costs.
He said: “Whether it’s mums and dads taking their kids to school, white van men filling up to go about their business, care workers who are doing multiple visits across the county, or HGV drivers, farmers, hauliers, and business people who are reliant on this to make their business tick.
“I cannot imagine how any Chancellor could increase fuel duty by 5p in these circumstances, where we’re seeing energy prices going through the roof.
“[Rachel Reeves] seems to be acting like a bystander rather than a Chancellor. She should do something to help people when they’re really hurting.”
Mr Jenrick said that if his party were to gain a majority at the next general election, then similar fuel measures would be taken “across the whole country”, where the proposed increase in fuel duty in September would be ‘reversed’ in Reform’s first budget.
According to the Newark MP, an average of £200 would be saved per household after VAT on domestic fuel was removed, as well as heating tax and green levies.
Speaking at the press announcement on the fuel cuts, Ashfield’s MP said: “That’s the Reform price.
“We can afford to do this by scrapping this net-zero nonsense and this green agenda… we’ve got the Greens [demonstration] here today who pulled up earlier in a diesel-powered car – you could not make this up, what a bunch of hypocrites.”
In order to fund this £2.4 billion commitment, Reform had previously urged the government to scrap the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Carbon Capture Usage and Storage spending, which it said would save around £12.1 billion by the end of this parliament and bring immediate relief to motorists.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s leader, Mick Barton, and a number of other Reform councillors attended Tuesday’s event.
Cllr Barton said: “It’s just something the government should be doing. People are struggling.
“Even with the stoppages in the war, I know the government don’t want to get involved, but they should be doing something to help residents and businesses.”
The council leader said he was “confident” the party would stick to its promises regarding fuel, adding: “In government, you have to react when you have issues, and it’s how you react.
“You have to do it in a professional manner and correctly. We’re not talking about billions; we’re talking about a few pence off duty or tax and asking for a bit of tax back – they should be doing it for the economy.”
Back in March, Mr Jenrick appeared at a similar Reform UK event at a petrol station in neighbouring Derbyshire alongside the party’s leader, Nigel Farage.
An HM Treasury spokesperson said: “Claims of a VAT windfall are misleading and economically illiterate: when fuel and household energy prices rise, people cut back on other spending that would normally be subject to VAT.
“We know motorists are paying more at the pumps because of the war in Iran. This is not our war, and that is why the British Government did not join it. We are determined to keep costs down for motorists. That’s why we have extended the 5p fuel duty cut and urge de-escalation.”
