LOCAL MP Rachel Gilmour has welcomed a Government freeze on fuel duty being extended until the end of the year, but said the measure does not go far enough to help rural families struggling with the cost of living crisis.

An existing 5p per litre fuel duty cut was due to expire in September, until Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last week confirmed it would continue for the rest of 2026.

Liberal Democrats want a fuel duty cut of 10p, which they believe would bring down pump prices by 12p per litre.

The party is also campaigning for a bus fare cap of £1 instead of £3, a 10 per cent rail fares cut, and a reduction in VAT on public electric vehicle charging, a package it wants the Government to trial for at least three months.

Mrs Gilmour’s Tiverton and Minehead constituency covers West Somerset and Exmoor, parts of Mid Devon and the Blackdown Hills, and parishes which border Wellington.

She said: “I welcome the extension of the fuel duty freeze, but it simply does not go far enough.

“Despite Downing Street's psychodrama obsession, the rest of the country is still suffering with the spiralling cost of living, and nowhere more so than in rural areas like Tiverton and Minehead, where public transport is not an option for most people.

“I have been fighting to improve transport links across this constituency, but until those improvements come, my constituents have no choice but to rely on their cars, and the cost of fuel is something they are having to deal with every single day.

“The Chancellor had the chance to cut 12p off every litre of fuel and to keep Britain moving, but she chose not to.”

Mrs Gilmour said the freeze would at least help keep the agricultural sector moving and take some pressure off families.