There’s never been a worse time to hike fuel duty — don’t do it, Rishi
Pump jump
THERE’S never a good time to raise fuel duty. But there’s never been a worse time than now.
We know Rishi Sunak is desperate for new revenue. But slapping 5p extra tax on a litre is suicidal.
About one in ten of all workers drives a van. It will hammer them when they are already fighting for survival. Truckers could be ruined.
Hiking fuel duty always appeals to London-based Treasury officials with buses and the Tube to rely on. Outside the capital, where most people have to drive, it’s a disaster.
Aside from hitting them directly at the pumps it will hammer shoppers as extra transport costs are passed down.
It will fuel inflation. It will wreck jobs when we already face mass unemployment for the first time in a generation.
Those crucial voters in the former “Red Wall” seats may start to wonder why they backed the Tories.
For ten years, through our Keep It Down campaign, The Sun has successfully fought such a rise. Our argument is still valid, perhaps now more than ever.
Don’t do it, Chancellor. It’s madness.
Labour fail
WHAT better example could there be of Labour’s defeatism than demanding NOW that next summer’s GCSEs and A-levels be delayed?
Of course many children are behind after months off school. The answer is not to feebly accept they’ll never get the grades they deserve.
It’s for them to work extra hard this term to catch up — and for their teachers to ensure it.
By next spring it may be clear that, through no fault of their own, some just cannot make up for lost time. That may be the moment for a rethink. To give up now is an abject failure of ambition.
We wish all those returning to class today — pupils, teachers and heads — the best of luck.
And to those staff who have worked hard over the summer to make it happen . . . well done, and thanks.
Barmy army
IT is a masterstroke of bad timing for the PC-obsessed MoD to recruit a £110,000-a-year “Director of Diversity” while scrapping our tanks.
Is the plan for him or her to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Vladimir Putin’s Head of Inclusion?
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Don’t get us wrong. We are all for diversity. But is our nation’s defence really “at its best when it is diverse”, as the MoD claims?
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It’s at its best when a multitude of highly trained troops are armed with the most advanced, most fearsome weapons.
And yes, in certain circumstances, that’s still a tank.
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