Treasury under more pressure over 2p fuel hike

Hilary Benn, the Environment secretary, faces angry Labor backbenchers after defending the government's proposal to ramp up road taxes on the drivers of second-hand cars.

His words will infuriate Labour backbenchers who argue that proposed increases in Vehicle Excise Duty for high polluting cars should be cancelled for drivers of older vehicles who have already made their purchase and can not afford to buy a new, greener model, according to The Daily Telegraph

More than one million motorists who bought their cars between 2001 and 2006 will pay more than £400 in duty a year compared to £210 or less now. Another one million drivers of older vehicles are estimated be hit by a 50% cent increase in their road tax bills. The increases will be phased in and the tax on the higher polluting cars will rise to £300 next year, followed by £430 or £455 in 2010.

‘Since three out of every four cars that is sold in the country are actually second-hand cars, not new ones, it is important that you have a change that also applies to the second-hand market, as it does to new cars,’ Benn said in an interview with the BBC's Politics Show.

Further reading:

VED raises road tax for millions of motorists

Environmental taxes overblown

Read The Daily Telegraph story