A PENSIONER has revealed that she’ll be forced to cut down on food if fuel duty rises as expected this month.
Millions of pensioners are facing a double whammy this winter as duty rises are combined with prior cuts to Winter Fuel Payments.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is widely expected to reverse the 2022 cut in fuel duty in the upcoming Autumn Statement on October 30.
The main rate of the tax has remained frozen for more than a decade in a victory for The Sun’s long-running Keep It Down Campaign.
Now, this added cost is expected to ramp up expenses for drivers by 20 to 48 per cent this winter – as the impact of colder conditions will be combined with potential fuel duty increases, according to the statistics from the AA.
This comes just months after Keir Starmer’s Labour government agreed to make Winter Fuel Payments available only to those on pension credits or other means-tested benefits.
For many pensioners, the rise in fuel duty is a kick in the teeth and could see the difference between putting food on the table or not in the coming months.
72-year-old Judith Briggs, from Pudsey in West Yorks, is just one of those set to bear the brunt of any decision to increase the costs at the pump.
Speaking to The Sun, Judith said she fears pensioners and working people are not being protected by the government ahead of this month’s budget.
Indeed, an increase of 5p or even 10p in fuel duty for Judith would mean “cutting down on a meal or reducing the size of the meals.”
She added: “Everything seems to be hitting pensioners at the moment, particularly.
“We don’t have an opportunity to earn more money. Where are we going to get extra from?
“We can’t claim anything because we’re just so over the limit.
“We’ve paid a pension at work for the privilege of having a little bit more than the state pension, and now we’re being penalised for it.”
Judith, who drives a Volkswagen Passat to do her weekly shopping and other errands, also mentioned that she tries to use public transport whenever she can as it’s cheaper.
However, she describes her local service as unreliable that “doesn’t serve the purpose.”
In a message to the Chancellor, Judith urges her to “stop attacking pensioners” and to go after the people “earning the big money.”
This comes as Reeves was warned a fuel duty hike in the budget would come at the “worst possible time” for drivers.
With clocks going back on October 27, a deadly combo of freezing temperatures and early darkness will make engines work harder and guzzle more fuel.
Elsewhere, millions of drivers could be affected following fresh legislation to combat dangerous driving.
Motorists under 21 in the UK would be hit by the moves put forward by the AA.
The Sun’s 14-year campaign to freeze fuel duty
The Sun has backed drivers as part of the Keep It Down campaign with rates of fuel duty not rising since the start of 2011.
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt earlier this year thanked Sun readers for helping him to make the case to freeze fuel duty in his last Budget.
The freeze meant drivers would not have to face a potential £100 rise in motoring costs as a result of a 12p per litre duty hike.
Our decade-long campaign fights on behalf of readers to freeze duty on petrol and diesel to help deal with rising living costs.
Mr Hunt said: “I know how much Sun readers are feeling the pinch right now.
“Whether you drive a van, a hatchback or a people carrier I know how much you need to be on the road.
“Keeping it down means hard-working people will have an extra £100 this year without having to cut down using their vehicle.”
