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Part of Prime Minister – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 19 May 2004.

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Photo of Michael Howard Michael Howard Leader of the Opposition, Leader of HM Official Opposition, Leader of the Conservative Party 11:30, 19 May 2004

I am afraid that none of that will wash. People are interested—[Interruption.] People are interested in what is happening now and what will happen in the future. Does the Prime Minister not appreciate the hardship that a further increase in petrol tax will cause? Last year, the Chancellor told us that he was going to defer the annual increase in petrol tax because of high and volatile oil prices. Petrol then cost 77p a litre and now costs 82p a litre. This week, oil prices reached a new high. So will the Prime Minister now have a word with his Chancellor—he does not have to go to Loch Fyne to do it—and drop the proposed increase?