FRUSTRATION is the word that best describes how I was feeling after failing to catch the Speaker’s eye during Tuesday’s debate on fuel prices. I’d put in early to speak and was confident of being called, but missed out by one! My frustration was not for myself, but for everyone in the country who is being severely affected by high fuel prices. I believe they are too high and I wanted to say so in the Chamber. An irritant is this inexorable rise in duty. On diesel alone, that figure is a staggering 81 pence per litre. Unfortunately, this is reliable revenue for any government and seemingly, its attraction has remained undimmed over the years. However, if we are to encourage growth, sustain jobs and create new ones, we must cut fuel costs, and not just by tinkering at the edges. Fuel prices have risen by almost 17 per cent in a year. Filling up an average family car now costs circa £100. As Boris Johnson commented so astutely, flying to Rome is cheaper than filling up a car. This is a ludicrous position to find ourselves in. South Dorset being a mainly rural constituency, the car is an essential commodity. We must drive further to reach essential services, like schools, shops and hospitals. And public transport is inadequate, to say the least. Worryingly, it’s those on lower incomes who are being hit hardest. Businesses are struggling, too. In my speech, I was going to refer to two in the constituency. One delivers brochures to more than 4,000 outlets across the south west, while the other runs a fleet of executive cars. Their role in helping to keep the local economy going is essential; high fuel costs must not be allowed to undermine their efforts. The Government has ended the fuel duty escalator, delayed planned price increases and is establishing a fuel stabiliser, but it needs to go much further, and soon.