Fylde MP slams rise in vehicle excise duty

9:40pm Sunday 20th July 2008

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A Fylde councillor has slammed the Government's increase in vehicle excise duty.

Councillor Simon Renwick, cabinet member for Fylde Borough Council, adds his condemnation to that of the Shadow Economic Secretary, Justine Greening, on the recently announced rise.

Coun Renwick said: “We’ve had the scrapping of the 10p tax which made 5.3 million working families less well off and now we have the changes in the VED which will see local families paying more for owning a car.

"The average Fylde family will be paying £80 a year more.

"Labour are out of touch and are adding to the growing misery of living in Browns Broken Britain.”

New estimates of the number of losers from the Government’s VED changes show that of the 9.4 million drivers the Treasury has admitted will pay more, 400,000 are families earning less than £15,000 a year, Coun Renwick claims.

Some will pay the largest £245 increase, equivalent to more than a week's take home pay, of £231.49, while the average family hit will pay £80 more by 2010/11, around two days take home pay, he said.

Justine Greening, Shadow Economic Secretary said: "Our estimates show that hundreds of thousands of families on low incomes will be losers from Gordon Brown's road tax hikes.

"The increase in VED will cost some of Britain’s poorest households more than a week’s wages.

“How does he expect those earning less than £15,000 a year to suddenly find £245, much less the thousands of pounds it would cost to buy a new, lower emission car?

“This Government is bleeding low income families dry, just as they are most under pressure from rises in the cost of living.”