Lyon: Labour has failed rural Scotland with fuel duty increase

2.20.00pm GMT Wed 24th Mar 2010

Commenting after the Chancellor announced a three pence rise in fuel duty over the next ten months, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland George Lyon said:

"The Labour Government has failed to listen to thousands of families across Scotland who are crying out for fairer fuel duty.

"A staged three pence increase in fuel duty is still an increase. The Government has missed an opportunity to target fuel duty reductions at rural communities where driving is a necessity, not a luxury.

"Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for a targeted cut in rural areas that has been delivered by other European countries."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary, Alistair Carmichael MP added:

"If this Budget was the launch of the General Election campaign, then Labour candidates must be despairing.

"Instead of making taxation fairer for the poorest in our community, Alistair Darling chose to freeze the level of personal income tax allowance, making an already unfair system even more unfair.

"The increase in fuel duty is a further blow to Scotland's rural areas. As Nick Clegg said, but as Labour fails to understand. the fundamental problem with fuel duty is that for rural areas a car is a necessity, not a luxury.

"The Government has so far failed to get RBS and Lloyds HBOS lending to sound Scottish businesses - why should we believe them when they say they're going to start now?

"This Budget was an exercise in concealing the true scale of changes and cuts that are going to be necessary to get out of the economic hole in which Labour will leave us."