Users of vans and other light commercial vehicles have been challenged by The Fuelcard People to spot the words that George Osborne did not include in his 2013 Budget speech. Steve Clarke, group marketing manager, said: “The Chancellor’s speech ran to over 7,500 words and went on for 45 minutes, but van users might be interested by some of the things that he didn’t say.”
He offered a clue: Mr. Osborne’s only reference to road transport was the few seconds he used to confirm that fuel duty will not be increased in September, as previously planned.
Steve Clarke said: “Few van users will have time to read the whole speech, so here are just a few of the words that did not appear anywhere in the Budget: van, LCV, freight, haulage, deliveries, transport… It seems that the Chancellor is unaware of the importance of this sector or, perhaps, that he simply does not think that LCV operators have problems. Other road users, of course, might point out a few more words that Mr. Osborne did not mention: HGV, truck, lorry, bus, coach, PCV, passenger…”
All that the Chancellor would say on the subject of hard-pressed road users was that duty would have risen by 13p per litre during this parliament if previously planned increases had not been cancelled. He made no suggestion of any plans to reduce fuel duty, while Vehicle Excise Duty – road tax – was not mentioned at all.
“This Budget did nothing to reduce the costs of road transport,” said Steve Clarke. “In fact, the Chancellor showed that he just does not consider the problems of commercial users, in saying that he was helping Vauxhall Astra and Ford Focus drivers by not increasing their fuel bills. His complete refusal to acknowledge the difficulties facing van users is astonishing.”
The Fuelcard People deals with the refuelling concerns of van and other LCV users every day. It helps them to find the best refuelling deals through a range which includes commercial rate fuel cards valid at BP, Co-Op, Emo, Esso, Gulf, Shell, Texaco, Q8, Jet, Gulf, Spot, Murco, Morrisons, Tesco, Pace and Moto filling stations, as well as on the Diesel Direct (Keyfuels), MyFuel and UK Fuels networks.
The Fuelcard People
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