Yesterday’s UK Budget was a bit of ‘nothing budget’ in my mind, there was money taken off in some places and added in others. But the thing everyone seems to be talking about today is the decrease in taxation on fuel. Motorists have finally got some breathing space from soaring pump prices after Chancellor George Osborne cut duty on diesel and petrol in a business-boosting Budget which he vowed would “put fuel into the tank of the British economy”.
At the climax of a Budget unashamedly focused on getting the economy motoring again, the Chancellor said: “I know that by itself this will not end the pressure on family budgets, but we’ve done what we can to help.” The cut in fuel duty, gave MPs something to cheer after Mr Osborne was forced to admit that independent forecasts had downgraded predictions for economic growth and increased expectations of the amount the Government will need to borrow.
So what does this mean to your motorhome hire holiday? Most motorhomes run on diesel rather than petrol, this is certainly the case with Motorhomes Direct fleet. Strangely enough the only country I know where diesel costs more than petrol is the UK (actually I’m not sure about Spain either, I think they are a similar price now), so it makes sense to go abroad. Norfolkline Ferries (now operated by DFDS) are extremely cheap for getting from Dover to Dunkirk and once you are in France, diesel is comparatively cheap. Diesel engines give much better fuel economy than petrol engines so you will go further on a tank full than you would with an equivalent petrol engine.
As far as driving goes, I watched Martin Lewis on the TV this morning who offered some good advice on driving economically. The most important tips were to turn off the air conditioning if possible and think of the accelerator as a ‘money pump’ i.e. every time you put your foot on it, it costs you money. I would also add to this that putting your foot on the brake also costs you money too, so avoid constant accelerating and braking especially between traffic lights. Overall though, just take your time and enjoy your motorhome holiday.
