Fuel price campaigning group FairFuelUK is calling on the government to follow France in cutting petrol and diesel prices to drive the UK economy into growth.

The French government has announced extensive measures to lower the price of fuel which has reached a record 1.46 euros (£1.15). President Francois Hollande will work with fuel suppliers to bring an immediate reduction of 6 cents per litre to protect French consumers, farmers and producers from financial hardship.

FairFuelUK says the French government recognises the damage to growth and spending power of high diesel and petrol prices and has vowed to take immediate action and also resolved to bring in permanent measures to control national fuel prices.

Quentin Willson, national spokesman for FairFuelUK, said: “We’re being embarrassed by the French! The UK has been in recession for ages, yet getting our government to recognise the damage to our economy of rising fuel prices has been as easy as translating Proust. But as soon as the French see their economy crashing, they act with speed to control the economic damage of expensive fuel. Our fuel costs are even higher than France’s yet we still do nothing to lower duty.”

Peter Carroll, founder of FairFuelUK, added: “In the CEBR Report we commissioned earlier this year, our findings suggest that a 2.5p reduction in fuel duty would result in the creation of thousands of jobs. Such a reduction, we estimate, would not result in any fiscal loss to the government and GDP would receive a boost of 0.32% within a year. The government cannot keep ignoring this overwhelming evidence and the wishes of hundreds of thousands of FairFuelUK supporters. The French seem to have got it!”

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