Labour refuses to rule out fuel duty rise when challenged by Conservatives in debate

Labour Deputy Leader Harriet Harman refused to rule out rises in fuel duty or air passenger duty when challenged to do so by Conservative frontbencher Nicky Morgan.

In an all-women debate on LBC Radio, Morgan said that the freeze in fuel duty that was extended for four-and-a-half years by the Chancellor, saving the average motorist £680, was one of the coalition Government's biggest achievements. She asked Harman whether Labour, if in Government, would raise fuel duty.

Harman said that the party had ruled out a number of tax rises, including VAT, and national insurance, but would set out its approach to the duty on fuel and alcohol in its first Budget. 

Shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher had vowed to not use motorists as a cash cow, using his first interview in the job to tell The Mirror that he drives down the A1 from his Barnsley constituency each week in his Vauxhall Astra, and that the "things that p**s off motorists are the things that p**s me off too".

UKIP has campaigned to cut, as opposed to freeze, fuel duty, saying it has "held the economy back" even when frozen. The freeze cost the Exchequer an estimated £1.1bn over the last two financial years.