HARLOW MP Robert Halfon’s hard-fought campaign to cut fuel duty has won the backing of MPs following a three-hour debate in the House of Commons.
Mr Halfon, who secured the debate after securing more than 100,000 signatures on a Government e-petition, urged ministers to abandon January’s proposed fuel duty increase of 3p per litre which he claimed would "cripple" the economy.
"There can be no doubt now about the seriousness of this issue," he said. "Millions of members of the public, thousands of businesses and over 100 Parliamentarians have made it 100 per cent clear to the Government that fuel duty needs to go down and not increase next year.
"This is the number one issue facing families and businesses across the UK. They can suffer no longer."
More than 100 MPs of all parties have signed the motion so far after Prime Minister David Cameron opted for a single-line whip which allowed backbench Tory MPs to vote in favour.
However, the result of the vote is not binding and a final deci¬sion is not expected to be made by ministers until later in the year.
Mr Halfon told the Star the debate had gone well.
"It was probably the longest day I’ve had since being an MP but I felt it went really well," he said. "It was particularly encour¬aging to receive support from all parties, and shows that fuel duty is an issue affecting families and businesses all over the country."
He added: "I will continue to lobby the government on this, not just for Harlow motorists but for motorists everywhere. I hope they will listen."
