News Story

Nigel Farage has staged a petrol station stunt to highlight his pledge to reverse the Government’s planned fuel duty hike by scrapping “lunatic” net zero levies.

The Reform UK leader announced the policy at a forecourt in Derbyshire where the price board was covered in the party’s turquoise branding with the lettering “Reform Refuel” and “25p off with Farage”, putting a litre of diesel at £1.43.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has resisted calls to cancel the planned 5p increase in fuel duty in response to the oil price spike caused by the Iran conflict.

Speaking at Newhaven services on Tuesday, Mr Farage said: “The way we sneakily do tax in this country means there’s about 6p going on a litre of petrol staged over the course of the next few months. This is just about the last time this should happen.

“How are we going to pay for not increasing taxes? Well, we’re going to get rid of lunatic green levies. In particular, I’m thinking about heat pump subsidies.”

A Reform UK government would save £13 billion a year by cutting spending on net zero initiatives, the party’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said.

Mr Jenrick, who recently defected from the Tories, said: “We’re announcing £13 billion of savings from Ed Miliband’s department, scrapping a lot of the net zero madness that is impoverishing people, de-industrialising our country right now.”

The party would scrap the scheme providing grants to homeowners to install heat pumps, cut investment in carbon capture technologies, and axe grants for new electric vehicles, he said.