Budget 2026: Healey freezes fuel duty again

John Healey has frozen fuel duty for a 15th consecutive year and extended the Ukraine war 5p cut, as part of a raft of small measures aimed to shield households from the Middle East conflict. The Chancellor confirmed the levy on petrol and diesel would remain frozen at 53p a litre until July, saying: For millions of people, the cost of living and the cost of doing business are the same. The home is the office. The van is the family car. Earlier this year, the government extended the 5p cut to fuel duty and slashed red diesel to its lowest rate in over 20 years, With the war in the Middle East still driving high fuel prices, I am extending these tax cuts for motorists through the winter and spring to July. The protracted conflict in the Middle East has carried prices at the pump to levels not seen since the height of Putin s offensive on Ukraine. Diesel has risen especially sharply after refineries across the world became targets in both Iranian and Ukrainian strikes. The