A freeze on fuel duty, currently saving drivers 5 pence per litre, was due to expire in September, but will now be extended for the rest of the year, the government said. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Britain will cancel a planned rise in tax on motor fuel and give a 12-month road tax holiday to hauliers, the government said on Wednesday (May 20, 2026), part of its efforts to ease cost-of-living pressures driven in part by the West Asia conflict.
A freeze on fuel duty, currently saving drivers 5 pence per litre, was due to expire in September, but will now be extended for the rest of the year, the government said in a statement. The new 12-month road tax holiday will save hauliers up to £912 per vehicle, the government added.
“I know many are feeling the pressure of energy and fuel costs, and are worried about how the conflict in Iran will affect their finances,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in the statement. “That’s why this government is stepping in to keep fuel costs down for millions of drivers,” he added.
The freeze in fuel duty — first announced in 2022 and then extended four times under successive governments — was supposed to last 12 months, with a cost to the government of £2.4 billion, a government research briefing said in January. It was not immediately clear how much the latest extension would cost.
Published – May 20, 2026 06:02 pm IST
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