There is no escaping the fact that the UK can be an expensive place. Ask the 17.4 million tourists who came here last year and most will say that they love to visit us, but could not afford to live here.

The Economist reported in April 2015 on the cost of housing compared with average incomes. It costs more to buy a house here than in the USA, Germany, France, Switzerland or just about anywhere else. Of the 26 countries surveyed, only Australia, Belgium and Canada are slightly more expensive. The cost of living is not just about buying a house, though, and one-third of us is living in rented accommodation.

This is not a cheap country, by any standard. You will pay more in Japan, for example, to buy eggs, bread or a McDonald’s meal. Cheese, apples and potatoes are all cheaper in Germany. It might not be surprising that you would pay three times as much for a cappuccino here as in Italy, but would you expect also to pay twice the price here for a bottle of water or a cinema ticket?

There is one area of ‘luxury’ purchases, however, where British high pricing is unchallenged: fuel. The latest worldwide survey by globalpetrolprices.com looked at 171 countries in June 2015. To be fair, there are six nations, from 170, where the average litre of petrol costs more than it does here. We lead the world, though, when it comes to charging a ridiculous price for diesel. Yes, seriously. In a league table of diesel prices around the world, the UK is more expensive than all 170 other countries surveyed.

Do you know what Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and Ukraine have in common? No, they are not all oil producers – the UK produces more oil than all six of them combined. In fact, they all feature in the latest IntelCenter “Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries” ranking, based on rebel and terrorist activity during the preceding 30 days. Despite that reality, they all manage to get diesel to their forecourts at lower prices than those confronting British motorists.

You could blame the government for this, but that would not be entirely fair. George Osborne merely follows in the footsteps of all previous Chancellors of the Exchequer. As we struggle through austerity towards economic recovery, our industry and commerce is shackled by the most ferocious fuel duties in Europe. If our longstanding membership of the European Union is supposed to have meant anything, it should have been ensuring a level playing field to compete against our nearest rivals. That has never been the case, it is not happening now, nobody should expect it in the near future. Leaving the EU will not help and nor will a renegotiated EU Treaty.

The only solution is for the government to realise that an immediate cut in Treasury income is essential, with the prospect of short-term pain being outweighed by the long-term benefits. A strengthening pound already makes our exports increasingly expensive, so let us help UK businesses by reducing one of their most significant costs.

In the meantime, the only course of action for any individual business to adopt is to ensure that it does not pay anywhere near pump prices. We can, of course, help with that.