 As usual we will have a prompt report on what the Chancellor had to say in her Autumn Budget statement in November which will highlight the key points of interest for V8 Register members and fellow MGV8 enthusiasts. HM Treasury website See a guide to budget statement buzzwords. More... BBC NEWS report Link What can we expect in the Autumn Budget 2025? See views of Fidelity International. Link Updated:250916 Posted: 250903 |
Autumn
Budget 2025 The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will deliver the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 26th November 2025, alongside the publication of an economic and fiscal forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The Treasury has stated that it will focus on "delivering for working people, by prioritising renewal and growth through investment and reform”. BBC News reports "It comes as the chancellor faces mounting pressure to balance the public finances, while trying to boost economic growth and maintain the confidence of investors on financial markets. Economists have warned tax rises or spending cuts must be made if Reeves is to meet her borrowing rules, given growth has been sluggish and inflation, the rate at which prices rise, has been increasing". Rail freight chief calls for the end to the 15-year fuel duty freeze The Financial Times reports John Smith, chief executive of GB Railfreight who are the largest UK rail freight operator, has said "Rachel Reeves should end the almost perverse 15-year freeze on fuel duty as it hands road freight truckers a growing cost advantage over more environmentally friendly rail freight operators". He was speaking as the Chancellor prepares for the Autumn Budget on 26th November 2025 that is expected to maintain the freeze, begun in 2011 by the then Conservative chancellor George Osborne. GB Railfreight is the sector's second biggest in the UK by volume of rail freight moved, and John Smith presented fuel duty as a critical issue for the industry. The Financial Times reports he told them that "the continued freeze in fuel duty - which has not been raised since 2010 and was further cut by 5p a litre in 2022 - conflicted with the Government's desire to transfer freight from polluting trucks to far cleaner rail. Also higher fuel duty would provide badly needed revenue for the Government". Looking back on the 15-year fuel duty freeze Before the fuel duty freeze announced in 2022 it was charged at 57.95p a litre plus VAT and was raised annually at least in line with inflation. It was cut by 5p in 2022 to 52.9p by the then chancellor Rishi Sunak because of the cost of living pressures from rising motor fuel prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the consequential disruption in the oil markets. The freeze continued on 6th March 2024 when Jeremy Hunt, as chancellor, said "the fuel duty measures included in the Spring Budget 2024 would save motorists an average of £50 over the next year and would bring the total savings since the 5p cut was introduced in 2022 to £250". In the Spring
Budget 2025 the Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the planned inflation
increase in fuel duty for 2025-26 would also not take place and
also the temporary 5p cut in fuel duty rates was extended by 12
months to 22nd March 2026. |
| Spring
Statement 2025 started
at 12.30pm after Prime Minister's Questions and ran for an
hour. As usual we have a prompt report on what the Chancellor had
to say shortly after she finished her statement to MPs. The Treasury
message seems to be "the Spring Statement is not a Budget but
is a continuation of the Chancellor’s existing strategy. There
will be no tax changes, instead only a small table of new policies,
meant to correct a gap in the public finances". Spring Statement 2025 document HM Treasury press release Link OBR economic and fiscal outlook published. Timetable & OBR Forecast See our earlier report on fuel duty See our earlier article on UK road tax |
Spring
statement 2025 - what did we see of interest to classic car enthusiasts? Fuel duty freeze until 2025-2026 The temporary 5p cut in fuel duty rates extended by 12 months in the Autumn Budget 2024 will remain and will expire on 22nd March 2026. The planned inflation increase for 2025-26 will also not take place. The freeze is a tax cut worth £3 billion over 2025-26 which represents a £59 saving for the average car driver. See NEWS update below Increase in NICs announced in th Autumn Budget 2024 The additional cost of the NICs increase for businesses providing specialist maintenance, restoration and replacement parts services, will be passed on to purchasers in whole or part increasing the costs of those services for classic car owners. 2025-26 Vehicle Excise Duty rates for cars, vans & motorcycles The Government will uprate standard Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates for cars, vans and motorcycles, excluding first year rates for cars, in line with the RPI from 1st April 2025. There was no mention of any adjustments to the current VED exemption arrangement for historic vehicles over 40 years old. Potholes The financial settlement for the transport sector in the Autumn Budget 2024 provides increased investment in local roads maintenance. It does this by "going beyond the Government’s promise to fix an additional 1 million potholes per year and providing a £500 million cash increase on 2024-25 local roads maintenance baseline funding". No adjustment to the settlement was announced by the Chancellor. Alcohol duty The UK Government will support pubs and the wider on-trade by cutting alcohol duty rates on draught products below 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) by 1.7%, so that an average ABV strength pint will pay 1p less in duty. The Government will also increase the discount provided to small producers for non-draught products, and maintain the cash discount provided to small producers for draught products, increasing the relative value of Small Producer Relief. Alcohol duty rates on non-draught alcoholic products will increase in line with RPI inflation. These measures will take effect from 1st February 2025. The current temporary wine easement will also end as planned on 1st February 2025. So a pint of real ale should have 1p less in duty at your local pub. Other topics VED on Electric Vehicles from April 2025 With the UK Government's ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030 the reform of motor taxes had become an urgent question for the Treasury because the switch to electric cars means almost £30bn in fuel duty raised annually for the Treasury will need to be replaced. VED will be paid by electric vehicles from April 2025. Updates with additional news seen on the Spring Statement and the OBR economic and fiscal outlook BBC comment mentioning fuel duty A post on the BBC News thread about 15 minutes after the Chancellor had sat down reports comments from an OBR forecaster on the "tax share to hitting a post-war high". Posted 250326 @ 14.13 The BBC thread: "The UK's tax share - which means how much HMRC brings in compared to the size of the overall economy - is forecast to hit its highest level since the end of World War Two, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts. In its report, the OBR forecaster reckons it will reach 37.7% of the economy by 2027/28. This is partly because of the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions which the Government announced in October's Budget. However that figure is highly speculative. In totting up its calculations for the future, the OBR assumes that the Government will implement a 5p rise on fuel duty - something previous governments have been loath to do". BBC News thread |
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