Rachel from Accounts vs White Van Man!
David Vance SubstackRead More
Did you see this glorious exchange that took place on a garage forecourt yesterday between Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and a chap driving a White Van?
I reckon that he spoke for MILLIONS of people and you could tell that she wasn’t happy about having few home truths rammed home. Her only retort was that he lacked “good manners”.
What Reeves fails to understand that her Government is loathed by many people. They got into power on a false manifesto and spend their time imposing things upon us that we don’t want. The very reason that she was on the forecourt was that the Government had announced it was not going to increase Fuel Duty.
But this is disingenuous and I will tell you why.
This isn’t a tax cut—it’s just a short delay before a major fuel duty increase hits. The original plan was a 1p per litre rise on 1 September 2026, followed by 2p on 1 December, and another 2p on 1 March 2027, totalling 5p per litre.
What’s changed is minimal: the 1p increase has been pushed back four months, and the 2p December rise delayed by one month . The government hasn’t said anything about cancelling the further 2p increase scheduled for March 2027 .
When inflation-linked uprating resumes in April 2027, the combined fuel duty increase—including the estimated RPI adjustment—will reach 6.74p per litre . Once you add VAT of 1.348p on top of that increase, motorists will face a total tax rise of 8.08p per litre by April next year .
Announcing this as a “win” for the motorist is cynical. Announcing this four weeks ahead of the Makerfield by election is also manipulative.
The fact that the Government adds 52.95p per litre of petrol/diesel is the real story here. On top of this fuel duty, you also pay VAT at 20% on the total pump price, which includes the duty itself. Together, fuel duty and VAT make up over half of what you pay at the pump.
If she REALLY wanted to help she could slash that. But she won’t.
Instead she is boasting about a temporary break before she hikes that Fuel Duty + VAT by 8p/litre.
They hate us!
