Drivers escape price hike and will save ‘£100 next year’ as fuel duty is frozen & 5p cut kept in Budget in huge Sun win

DRIVERS have escaped a price hike as fuel duty is frozen for the 13th year in a row - AND the 5p cut has been kept.

In a double win for The Sun's Keep it Down campaign, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt today told MPs he wanted to protect hard-pressed drivers in his first proper Budget.

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It means drivers will be spared a feared 12p rise - a combination of the end of the cut and an inflationary rise.

Mr Hunt name checked The Sun today when he made the announcement to MPs in the Commons.

"Now is not the right time to increase the duty," he admitted.

"I have heard the representations from the Honourable Member from Stoke on Trent North, my Rt Hon Friend for Witham and my Rt Hon Friend from South Thanet and the Sun newspaper about the impact on motorists of the planned 11p rise in fuel duty.

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"For a further 12 months I’m going to maintain the 5p cut … and I’m going to freeze fuel duty too.

"That saves the average driver £100 next year and around £200 since the 5p cut was introduced."

Spring Budget at a glance

• Millions of households will save £160 after the Energy Price guarantee was extended
• Cigarette prices will rise after the government hiked tobacco tax
• Drivers won’t pay more for fuel as duty was frozen and a 5p cut will continue in a huge win for The Sun’s campaign to keep it low
• The lifetime allowance on pensions will be axed and the annual allowance will increase
• The government will give councils £500m to fix potholes
• Millions of energy customers on prepayment meters will no longer pay more
• Jeremy Hunt unveiled 12 low-tax investment zones across the country
• Alcohol duty on beer in pubs will be cut, saving 11p per pint - but tax on wine and spirits will increase
• The Chancellor confirmed that benefits will rise next month
• Corporation tax will rise to 25% next month
• The government will extend free childcare to 30 hours for one and two-year-olds
• Working parents on Universal Credit will get more for childcare and costs covered straight away

Fuel duty taxes have been frozen at 57.95p since March 2011, but then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a 5p cut last year as prices soared to new record highs.

The 12-month measure was due to last until the end of March.

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It's likely to cost the Treasury around £6bn to keep everything frozen.

The move is set to save drivers around £3.30 a tank, according to the RAC.

Find out more by reading our Spring Budget live blog here.

Campaigners warned that raising taxes on fuel now would hammer the economy and harm our growth.

As late as last week, Treasury officials were pushing Mr Hunt to raise fuel duty by 2p in a compromise.

A Treasury source said: "Officials are desperately trying to claw back some cash - and want to put pennies on fuel, if not the full hike due.";

We revealed how one in four struggling tradesmen have lost work as soaring fuel and taxes are pricing them out of their vans.

A string of politicians including Priti Patel had called on ministers to Keep It Down.

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