Budget case study: the motorist

Norfolk motorist Lynsey McMaster-Green has welcomed the government's decision to cut fuel duty by 1p a litre and defer a planned inflation rise in fuel duty due in April. But she warned that even after the reduction, high fuel prices will continue to dominate household budgets – particularly in rural areas. The 33-year-old, who lives with her farmer husband in the village of Upton, drives the 13 miles to Norwich each day where she works in online marketing for Aviva. Despite owning a small, economical Audi A2 with a 1.6l petrol engine, which manages close to 40 miles a gallon, she is currently spending almost £35 a week on petrol. "I used to be spend around £25 a week, but the recent jump in forecourt prices means it's now more like £35. The 1p cut in fuel duty is definitely a move in the right direction, and it's good the government has recognised that people are feeling the pain, but it would have been better if they had they had gone even further. After all they are making the money up that they will lose in the increased VAT receipts." She says that like millions of others across the country, she doesn't have an alternative to driving. "There are two busses a day to our village, but the timings don't work so I have to drive – and the petrol cost has been hurting. "Living in the countryside was a choice for us, I accept that. But because my husband is a farmer, and has to work long hours, it would be unreasonable to expect him to commute as well." Even after the decrease she says petrol in Norwich will still be above £6 a gallon. If she has to buy petrol closer to her rural home she says she could easily pay an extra 6p a litre more – around £1.35 a litre. "I try to remember to fill up when I'm in the city, which make a big difference. It's good that there will be the extra money for potholes, but I'd like to have seen a bigger cut in fuel duty. I suppose it shows that the government has been listening. People are still spending a lot their income just to get to work," she says.