Fuel price cuts in the UK will largely benefit the SUV-driving elite

‘We need to address poverty and reduce emissions from the use of fossil fuels if we’re to tackle climate change: the two goals are complimentary, not incompatible.’ Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

From Ireland to Italy taxes on motor fuels are coming down and, in his Wednesday spring statement, Rishi Sunak is expected to jump onboard. The move comes in response to rising pump prices driven by bottlenecks in global supply chains and compounded by the war in Ukraine, with unleaded petrol rising by about 20p a litre since the start of the year. But, while the problem is a real one, cutting fuel duty will make inequality worse, not better.

While many among the UK’s poorest people drive, government data shows that about 40% of the poorest households do not own a car. At the other end of the spectrum, the richest households are on an SUV binge. The result is that the top fifth of households spend almost five times as much on motor fuel each year as the bottom fifth.