A typical household will pay almost £40,000 in fuel duty over a lifetime if Labour's hike goes ahead, according to new analysis. The TaxPayers' Alliance said an average household currently shells out £36,285 in fuel duty over a 60-year period.

But this would go up by £3,423 to £39,708 if the proposed 5p rise is phased in over six months from September. The campaign group is calling on the Government to scrap the increase, which would be the first in more than a decade and comes as the Iran conflict has sent prices soaring.

Anne Strickland, a researcher at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "People are rightly alarmed at the looming fuel duty hike, given the sky-high prices they now pay at the pump.

"Households are already handing over tens of thousands of pounds in fuel duty, and pushing ahead with another hike would make an already punishing tax burden even worse, particularly for retirees and those on low incomes. The research found that the poorest households spent £2.72 in every £100 of their income on the levy in 2022-23, which is the latest full-year data available.

This is followed by £1.30 in every £100 for retirees, while the figure stands at 90p in £100 for working households.

The analysis piles more pressure on the Government to abandon plans to gradually phase out the current 5p cut to fuel duty, starting with a 1p increase from this September.

Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas shipping route, by targeting vessels in response to the US-Israeli air strikes.

Petrol prices are now 10p higher than before the conflict escalated, and diesel costs have shot up by 20p a litre, according to RAC figures.

The average price of unleaded petrol was 142.3p a litre yesterday, up 7.1% since February 28. Average diesel prices have jumped by nearly 14% over the period to 162.1p.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband hinted earlier this week the Government could ditch its fuel duty plan if the war continues into the latter half of the year.

A Treasury spokesperson said: "We have kept the state pension triple lock so 12 million people will see an extra £470 this year, expanded the Warm Homes Discount and kept the energy price cap.

"To support drivers at the Budget we extended the 5p fuel duty cut from this month to September."