Lib Dems demand emergency 10p fuel duty cut as diesel nears record £2 a litre amid Iran war surge

From the Newshound archive · first published 21 September 2026.

Diesel is on the verge of breaking its all-time record of 199.09p a litre this week, with the RAC warning a new high looks "increasingly likely" after prices climbed nearly 12p during September alone. Sir Ed Davey is urging Chancellor John Healey to cut fuel duty by 10p a litre through to Christmas, arguing the £2bn price tag would be offset by the government's own windfall from surging energy revenues. Filling a family diesel car now costs £107.43 — £29 more than in late February, when rising oil prices began tracking the US-Iran conflict.

The RAC says petrol has also topped 172p a litre — its highest since August 2022 — leaving average households spending £43 extra per month on petrol and £58 more on diesel than they were before hostilities began.

Labour faces a triple threat: campaigners and the Lib Dems both want Healey to scrap planned fuel duty rises of 3p in January and 2p in March, as well as the end of a 16-year freeze.

Davey blamed "Trump's mad war with Iran" for the surge, warning that 40 countries have already cut fuel duty in response while Britain's families brace for a bruising winter.