Fuel duty will be frozen again, but only for five months until September 2026, the chancellor has announced, as she confirmed a new 3p-a-mile charge for electric cars from 2028.

Rachel Reeves will freeze fuel duty in April at 52.95p a litre for petrol and diesel, a 16th successive year without a rise, but the so-called “temporary” 5p cut introduced by Rishi Sunak will be reversed in stages from September.

Raising fuel duty has become politically contentious since the first freeze announced by the coalition government in 2010 – but the eventual rise will help maintain a differential in running costs to encourage the transition to electric cars, when the new mileage-based levy on EVs takes effect from 2028-29. Fuel duty in effect costs about 6p a mile on average for cars.

The OBR said t

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