| "Fair fuel stabliser" |
| The issue: |
Dear George Young
In previous correspondence you mentioned how George Osborne was interested in addressing the issue of tax on aviation fuel, and I was encouraged to hear that this is something your party regards as important: it is very important to me that the tax should be increased in this situation to encourage a reduction in air travel and use of oil generally.
I was very disappointed then, to read of George Osborne's "fair fuel stabiliser" idea: so far as I understand, he's suggesting the tax on fuel should go down when oil prices go up, in order to minimise the effect of price rises on motorists. I have to say that this seems like a very cowardly idea, and one that panders to the public's misguided short-term self-interest: oil prices are going up partly as a result of limited supplies, and the situation in the future is going to get worse, not better. Taking action which allows people to ignore this issue is wrong: politicians need to address the problem of peak-oil bravely by stating the uncomfortable truth that we need to stop using it. Fiddling around with tax in order to court popularity is short-sighted.
I realise that people are badly affected by rising prices, but the sooner we get used to the fact that we're past the age of cheap oil the better. Our country ought to be doing as much as possible to invest in alternative options, and if anything we ought to be increasing tax on fuel in order to raise revenue for this. I don't care if it's Labour or Conservative or a coalition that does this, but ideas such as the "fair fuel stabiliser" just make me despair.
regards
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| Date Issue Raised: |
07 Jul 2008 |
| My response: |
Many thanks for this - and my apologies for the delay in replying. I see that Anatole Koletsky, writing in to-day's Times, supports our proposals.
I will drop you a line shortly, explaining the logic behind them.
Best wishes, George Young |
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Sir George Young Bt MP: Constituency and Parliamentary Website 