---
title: "Diesel tops £2 a litre and Jersey tradespeople feel the strain"
url: https://www.nsfw.info/diesel-tops-2-litres-jersey-tradespeople-feel-strain/
published: 2026-10-16T06:00:52+00:00
modified: 2026-10-16T06:00:52+00:00
author: "Chief Editor"
categories: ["Business"]
image: https://www.nsfw.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/diesel-tops-2-litres-jersey-tradespeople-feel-strain-1024x572.webp
summary: "Diesel has passed £2 a litre in Jersey, squeezing construction and trades firms. The government plans to freeze fuel duty in 2027, but businesses warn it may no"
publisher: NSFW (https://www.nsfw.info)
---

# Diesel tops £2 a litre and Jersey tradespeople feel the strain

**In brief:** Diesel prices have topped £2 a litre in Jersey and the UK, squeezing margins for local businesses in construction and related trades. The Government of Jersey has proposed freezing fuel duty in 2027, but some businesses warn the measure will offer only limited relief if global prices keep climbing.

## Pumping Up the Pressure

For anyone running a diesel-dependent business in Jersey, the fuel pump has become something of a horror show. The BBC reports that diesel prices recently topped £2 a litre locally and across the UK, piling yet more cost onto businesses already wrestling with rising materials, freight and operating expenses.

Kelly Keating of A&A Scaffolding Solutions put it plainly: “Rising diesel prices are a real concern for us, particularly when they come on top of so many other costs that seem to be increasing across Jersey.” The firm relies on diesel for machinery, vehicles and deliveries, meaning every penny on the pump translates directly into pressure on project pricing. “Businesses can only absorb so many increases before they affect investment, project viability and ultimately the prices customers pay,” Keating said.

Tree surgery firm Jonathan Le Maistre Ltd is feeling the pinch too. Darren Hopkins, from the company, told the BBC that his business depends on vans, trucks, chippers, stump grinders and other fuel-hungry machinery. “Increased diesel prices will raise our operating costs, reducing margins on jobs and making it more difficult to absorb costs without passing some of them on to our customers,” he said, adding that continued increases would be a concern for the business and the wider industry.

## The Government’s Response: A Freeze, Not a Cut

The Government of Jersey has proposed freezing fuel duty in 2027, framing it as a measure to “help ease cost-of-living pressures.” It is worth noting that fuel duty was already frozen from 2023 to 2025, before rising in line with inflation in 2026. So the proposed freeze is, in effect, a return to the recent status quo rather than a bold new intervention.

In the run-up to the 2027 budget announcement, Deputy Lucy Stephenson called for an outright reduction in fuel duty. Those plans were withdrawn after ministers offered assurances that support was on the way. Treasury Minister Alan Maclean explained that the government “didn’t like the idea of reducing fuel duty because it wasn’t targeted,” preferring instead to direct support towards families and those “struggling the most.”

Responding to fresh concerns from businesses, Maclean said: “Rather than expecting businesses to absorb increased costs such as higher fuel prices, the budget provides support directly to consumers to help them manage those pressures and spend in the local economy.” He acknowledged that fuel prices are “largely driven by global markets and geopolitical events outside Jersey’s control,” but argued that the duty freeze would “reduce the level of duty in real terms.”

## Managing, Just About

Not every business is in crisis mode. Jeremy Phillips of Barette Plant Hire told the BBC that rising prices “haven’t been too much of an issue so far,” though the firm has begun adding fuel surcharges to its hourly rates. Phillips offered a cautionary note, however: “If the prices keep going up, customers aren’t going to be carrying on with their projects.” That is a warning worth heeding. A slowdown in construction and plant hire activity would ripple well beyond the businesses directly affected, touching suppliers, subcontractors and ultimately the wider Jersey economy.

The cumulative picture is one of an island economy under sustained cost pressure. Scaffolders, tree surgeons and plant hire firms are not glamorous headline-grabbers, but they are the sinew of Jersey’s built environment. When their margins tighten, projects stall, prices rise and islanders end up paying more for everything from a new roof to a tidy garden.

## The NSFW Perspective

There is something quietly revealing about the Treasury Minister’s argument that helping consumers spend in the local economy is the best way to support businesses suffering from high fuel costs. It is a roundabout route, to put it charitably. The businesses themselves are not asking for a handout; they are asking for a cost reduction on something they cannot avoid buying. A freeze in duty is better than a rise, of course, but it does nothing about the underlying global price. Jersey’s government can reasonably claim it cannot control oil markets, and that is fair enough. What it can control is how much of its own tax it layers on top, and the decision to freeze rather than cut, after a year of inflation-linked increases, suggests the Treasury is rather more comfortable with the status quo than the island’s diesel-dependent tradespeople are.

*Source: [BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9rky27ljrxno)*