With fuel and energy costs rising in the UK compared to the EU, a handful of quotes from Brexiteers championing the supposed fall of such prices if the public voted to leave have resurfaced.
A quote Michael Gove gave to the British public in the lead up to the EU referendum vote has resurfaced and it’s aged very badly.
In May 2016, just one month before the country voted for Brexit, the Conservative minister appeared on Sky News where he was interviewed by Eamon Holmes.
During the interview, Gove claimed that if the country left the EU, the government would be able to remove VAT on fuel, saving money for the poorest families.
In fact, British drivers now pay more for their fuel than their counterparts in many EU countries.
You're saying you can cut the price of energy bills if people vote for brexit?
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) December 28, 2021
Michael Gove(May 2016) - Absolutely.. if we vote to leave we can cut VAT on domestic fuel to zero..
Time you put your money where your mouth is, Michael Gove. pic.twitter.com/2xME3gUWMo
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In 2016, Gove claimed: “If we vote to leave the European Union, we can cut VAT on domestic fuel to zero and that would save households about £60 a year.
“Now, this is something we can only do if we leave the European Union. Once we’re in the EU at VAT’s slapped on any product, it can’t be taken off.
“But if we leave the EU, we can use the millions of pounds that we would save from being outside the EU to cut VAT on fuel, and that would help the poorest families most of all.”
But, as it transpires now, British drivers are actually paying around £16 more than others in EU countries each time they fill up their car tanks.
An investigation by campaign group FairFuelUK found that on Christmas Eve, petrol in the UK cost £1.45 a litre, on average.
In comparison, that was 27p higher than in Austria, 21p pricier than in Spain and 14p higher than in Germany.
The claim that fuel and energy costs would be lower outside the EU was also peddled by other Brexiteers including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Douglas Carswell and Daniel Hannan on various television appearances.
“our energy costs will be lower” after Brexit pic.twitter.com/DgDKpQ6lh6
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) December 28, 2021
With gas market prices rising, it’s likely fuel bills will continue to rise, but the government has failed to do what it can to assist.
If the Treasury removed VAT on gas and electricity, as Gove promised was possible outside of the EU, bills could be cut by 5 per cent.
