Latest Press Releases
| FUEL PRICE BETRAYAL RAISED AT PMQS |
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| Wednesday, 12 January 2011 00:00 |
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SOARING PRICES SHOW WHY SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT NEEDS FINANCIAL POWERS Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions today (Wednesday), SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson MP hit out at the betrayal of a Tory and Lib Dem promise to introduce a fuel price stabiliser and bring down soaring fuel prices. The SNP has vowed to make the need for a Fuel Duty Regulator and bringing down the cost of fuel a key Holyrood election issue, and Mr Robertson pointed out that cutting fuel by 10p per litre in Scotland would only cost about half of the estimated £1 billion in extra revenue the Treasury is set to rake in as a result of rising oil prices. Speaking after the exchange, Mr Robertson said: “The country is crying-out for action to bring down fuel prices, and no issue better shows why the Scottish Parliament needs the economic and financial tools to act in the interests of our communities and the travelling public. Westminster, where the powers currently lie, has failed to do anything, and the Tories and Lib Dems have reneged on their pre-election promises. “This is a huge issue on the doorstep and the forecourts – and the SNP will make it a big issue in the election. It is a key illustration of why we need to build up Scotland’s Parliament, and equip it with the full powers of financial responsibility. “A Fuel Duty Regulator – which the Tories supported before the election – would bring duty down when oil prices go up. Cutting fuel by 10p per litre in Scotland would only cost about half of the estimated £1 billion in extra revenue the Treasury is set to rake in as a result of rising oil prices. “It’s a national scandal that, in Europe’s oil-richest country, Scots are paying among the highest fuel prices.” |
