BUDGET UPDATE: 2p duty rise delayed until October

The other day i heard from the local radio that one of the stations in Kirkcaldy, Fife, had put the price of Diesel up to £1.45, the same day i drove past my local filling station in the morning, it was 1.14 later that day went up to 1.17.

I used to be able to fill my tank right up with £40, had half a tank already but due to start a stretch of nights so thought best to fill up thinking that £20 would be enough. How wrong was i, i didnt even get quarter out of it.

Am a 60 mile round trip to get back and forth to work. If this continues, am gonna have to start looking for a new job !

People are taking notice i to have to drive living in rural area hey i could get the bus and wait over an hour after my shift is finnshed and walk to the bus stop for the last bus to my place but why the hell should i use public transport dont make me laugh take 8 bags of shopping from your local asda to a bus and off and home again

Marion, I have to drive to work - it isn't feasible to get here by public transport from where I live. When I first started in this job it used to cost me £20 a week in fuel - it now costs me £30. I am now in a position where I can no longer afford to work here and I have started looking for a job closer to home.

As consumers we have to act and show the retailers that it is we who hold the strings and not them.

I'm prepared to do whatever it takes, but trying to get everyone behind a campaign is the difficult part. A small contingent won't really make much difference - how do we get people to sit up, take notice and act?

I was looking forward to being a bit more comfortable once children grown up etc but no chance as long as prices are hiking. A £6 increase in filling my tank in a month is beyond a joke

I'd go along with a boycott. How about everyone boycott the big boys for a whole month - that'd soon wake them up.

If the supermarkets see that as an opportunity to hike their prices then the first one to do so gets added to the boycott - food as well as fuel.

We have GOT to do something. I saw on television this morning that prices are predicted to reach £1.50 per litre by September this year.

The government will do nothing as every rise is more income into their coffers.

this country is a rip off country and mr brown is just a w...... they say there not putting petrol up till october but tell morrisons tesco and shell as they have put it up now.i think they should have the fuel protesters out again and this time make the country come to a stand still.then they might do something about it.PROTESTERS COME OUT AGAIN

I am so so furious, I went to get diesel on Monday and then returned to get some more on Thursday to find that the price had been put up by more than 10p in one go!! how can this carry on now £1.20 p/l. Tesco in my area is annoying as such a big company has managed to get some of the highest prices around, taking advantage of us.
We as consumers need to do something? any suggestions as i do not believe we can just take this any more. soon people are not going to be able to go to work soon!? i am so angry.

There was an e-mail around several months ago suggesting boycotting petrol from the big boys - Shell, BP, Esso, etc - and people I know were doing just that. However, the supermarkets are charging the same and sometimes more than them now so it becomes a question of cost again.

We are a very placid nation in terms of standing up for what we believe in so I'm not sure that blockades will get the support they deserve. The French seem to have it right if Operation Stack is anything to go by. How many times have the ports been closed off by French workers on strike? Too many times in the last year to mention, but they do seem to have the right result for them.

I think I'm like the majority - if there's a valid reason for the increase, then we don't mind paying (we don't like it, but have to do it) - but when things are good, we want to be rewarded too. It's insulting to make us pay more because oil prices are high and then announce disgustingly huge profits and keep the prices up. We seem to be in a no win situation.

well i strongly think its time for more fuel blockades as the situation with the fuel price rises is out of control . its day light robbery

oh what a shock another fuel price rise. when will it stop. when we get to £5.00 a litre. its getting out of proportion now. and spiteful to the motorist.

i had an email the other day and this is a good idea. if eveyone boycotts going to fill up at Esso,BP.Shell,Texaco. And you use your local supermarket. this will become a problem for the big fuel companies. so in theory hopefully in practise they will be forced to lower prices to stop losing profits.

so if everyone does this and i mean everyone this could be a start to lower fuel prices so pass on the idea to all.

Pile of shite

Yes the prices are going to keep on rising as there is just moaning about the prices.

Untill we create havoc nothing will be done, there will be many that think's that that comment is crazy but beleive me untill we do something drastic nothing will be done.

At the rate fuel is rising there will be a minority of motorist's simply priced out of the market & may have to stop driving as they are not only paying more for fuel but also food.

What we should have done was supported the fuel blockades instead of moaning, the trouble is with us brit's were all talk & no action & the government know it & so do the oil companies.

More action & less moaning about it will do us much more good.

I wonder how many people would support a couple of weeks of no driving their vehichles where possible?

I personaly hate catching the bus but if i thought we could arrange somethig to hit the oil companies hard then putting my self out for a couple of weeks would be well worth it.

how many others on here would support it??

I'm not holding my breath too much.

Thanks for your comments Peak Oil.

I have worked hard all of my life and when my daughter was born, I had to go back to work to pay the mortgage and the bills as times were lean. Mortgage rates were 13% and life was hard for us. Not as hard for us as for some of those in third world countries, but I was fortunate enough to be born and raised here so can only compare my life experiences to those in a like-for-like situation.

We have made changes to the way we live - I think most of us have. I previously worked for an environmental charity were education was at the forefront of everything we did. We all do our bit in recycling, buying local produce, etc etc. I work locally and have done for the last 15 years now having given up the commute to London. Unfortunately our local transport system isn't that great and it means that I need to use my car to take me to work. We car share wherever possible.

I don't venture into discussing politics wherever possible - I don't see the point because you can't please everyone. However, I noted that this blog is for people to air their opinions and views and that is what I have done.

I need to work to pay my bills and I need my car to get me to work. What I am struggling with is the fact that the prices are going up at a rapid level with nothing being done.

When I bought my car at the beginning of March (having swapped from a much larger 4 wheel drive), it cost me £60 to fill it. Tonight it cost me £66 and it wasn't as empty and 'running on fumes' as it usually is! This site told me one of my local garages was selling diesel for £115.9 per litre, but when I got there it was £116.9 per litre, having increased 1p per litre in 2 days.

242

<quote>"Most of us seem to be working to pay the bills now and not LIVE our lives. Whatever happened to the Government's work/life balance? It seems to me a work to live balance with prices increasing so much that there is nothing left for the niceties of life!"</quote>

Thing yourself lucky Marion. Food and fuel price increases have driven millions of people around the world to the point of starvation.

What is the main reason for this dramatic change in the world's fortune?


PEAK OIL


If you haven't heard the term 'Peak Oil'; brace yourself as you'll be hearing it a lot more in the years to come. It's been a whispered term for many years, much like "global warming" was back in the 60's.

In 1956, geophysicist Dr. M. King Hubbert predicted that oil production in the USA would reach its peak around 1970 and then go into a state of decline. He also predicted that global oil production would peak around the late 90's/early 21st century. He plotted the increase, peak and decrease of oil production on a graph; and his theory is popularly known as Hubbert's Peak.

Dr Hubbert also flagged with the world the issue not only of declining oil production, but the increasing cost associated in extracting what oil remained after the "low hanging fruit" had been picked.

There is no doubt that the cost of oil production in recent times has been huge - not only in the exploration and production itself in financial terms; but also in terms of environmental damage caused. Added to that has been the huge military expense and associated human suffering caused through wars that have been pushed on the public by their governments as being issues of national safety rather than their true motivation - control of oil reserves. The war in Iraq is a classic example of that.

Dr Hubbert was ridiculed by many when he released his research; but his predictions appear to have come true. USA oil production did indeed go into rapid decline around 1971.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a cartel of countries whose members sit on around two-thirds of the world's oil reserves have been in a state of public denial about peak oil theory for many years; but that seems to have changed recently also.

In the November/December 2006 issue of OPEC's publication; "OPEC Bulletin", on page 62 is an article by Dr Shokri Ghanem, Chairman of the People's Committee, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya; discussing not the "if" of peak oil occurring; but "when" and he acknowledges that we may already be in that timeframe.

Fact: we are consuming more oil globally and the trend will continue

Fact: it is not a renewable resource in relation to our consumption levels

Fact: countries go to war over control of oil reserves

Fact: oil consumption has a negative impact on the environment

Fact: gas at the pump continues to, generally speaking, increase in price

Fact: many plastics and other trappings of the modern world are made from oil

Fact: the world is running out of easily sourced oil; i.e. production using current technology has peaked, and what oil is left will cost more to pull out of the ground using methods most likely to be even more unfriendly to the environment.

Paints a rather grim picture for our oil addicted society doesn't it? If we're willing to invade a country now for oil, how much more aggressive will we be when supply really gets tight?

How does food get to your table? Do you grow it in your yard, or is it trucked in to your supermarket? How do you collect it; do you walk to the supermarket or drive? How do you get to work?

How many affordable alternative energy vehicles are now on the market?

When the Iraq war and other geo-political issues pushed the price of oil to record levels; people stopped buying SUV's. Within a couple of weeks of a drop in prices; they went back to buying them again. It just goes to show how little we learn. We had a taste of what really expensive gas was like, yet as soon as the pressure was backed off a little; we went straight back to our previous oil-greedy ways.

We won't learn, oil will have to run out or become so horribly expensive that only few can use it to any degree. What will it cost? How much will it impact on the cost of other items? How many more people will have to die and how much more will our environment suffer while we squeeze out the last viable drop of oil that the planet has to offer?

These are important issues to think about - don't rely on governments to provide the answers to a world without oil as they've all been in denial for way too long. Yes, there are renewable/alternative energy programs in place; but given the major role that oil plays in our lives; permeating just about every aspect; whether these new, cleaner technologies can be rolled out broadly before we hit the real crunch is something I'm not very confident of.

The time is now to start thinking about and making changes to the way you live so your life is not so oil-centered. Remember that a lack of oil extends far beyond just not being able to drive your car - so many other products, services and industries are based on oil.

Prepare for a life of austerity.

Find local employment. Reduce your debts. Reduce your fuel consumption. Grow your own vegetables or buy from local suppliers. Exercise regularly. Insulate your home. Help your family, friends and colleagues to understand the implications of Peak Oil.

I think it's disgusting that when crude oil prices increase, we are left with no alternative but to pay the extortionate prices the petrol stations sell it at, but when they drop, it's not a reciprocal arrangement. In the autumn some of the bigger oil companies were reporting vast profits, but have done nothing to assuage the dissent that motorists feel with all of this. We are penalised left, right and centre. If it's not petrol, it's road tax, or tolls, or congestion charging or parking. If places other than London had better transport systems maybe we wouldn't have to use our vehicles as much but with things the way they are, we have no alternative.

Most of us seem to be working to pay the bills now and not LIVE our lives. Whatever happened to the Government's work/life balance? It seems to me a work to live balance with prices increasing so much that there is nothing left for the niceties of life!

Echoing someone else's comments, yes, Britain does suck, but at the moment it's my home and I want to stay. It is a sad fact that many feel the only way to deal with what's happening is emigration, but it's also a fact that we are way beyond full and need to close our borders and adopt a better policy - the Australians spring to mind. Develop a better policy - it's not rocket science for god's sake!

Oil shortage, food shortage, overcrowding everywhere, rocketing prices, it all comes down to population and Britain has too much of one.

It's time we closed our borders and the only way to do that is to leave the EU.

I dont believe this !!!! just nipped to the petrol station at the bottom of my street and its 109.9!!!!!!! thats a joke!!!!!!

Crude Oil and it's Products are priced in US Dollars, and change hourly/daily. In the UK "Oil Traders" watch the exchange rate (UK Pound versas US Dollar) like hawks.

Example: Crude bought @ $100.00/Bbl
Exchange Rate = 1.97 = £50.76/Bbl.
Exchange Rate = 1.98 = £50.50/Bbl.
Exchange Rate = 1.99 = £50.25/Bbl.

Traders buy in 1000/Bbl lots. A difference of 00.25p/Bbl = 250/lot.

The lower the rate against the dollar the more expensive the Crude Oil becomes. This in turn leads to higher Fuel Prices.

When Oil is priced in Dollars and at the moment the exchange rate is $1.97 to the pound is our petrol and diesel so dear?

Should it not be that the price should be a lot lower?

I have a friend in California. He says they are compaining about paying $3.85 a US gallon for fuel there. THat is by my reckoning just £1.94 a US gallon. THey have a right to complain. Everything is relative. It just shows up what a totally mad taxing policy we have here. It is strangling our lives and economy. There is plenty of fuel about. Someone is making an awful lot of money out of the poor old motorist. Tax policies that target one part of the community in such a ruthless fashion has to end in tears. I fear that day is coming . Let's just have some good old British fairness back. We are being ruined by blind politicians who cannot see the storm coming. When people get a criminal record for there rubbish bin things have just got to change. We are mad for letting these things happen.

In the news this morning it was said that some garages have been deliberately put prices up (profiteering) in the name of high oil prices. Some even by as much as 5 pence.

This shows that fuel prices could be lowered not only by the government but by petrol stations.

how do they expect people to carry on when fuel prices go up... it has a knock on effect to everthing else... there needs to be some consistency here and a set price...... the inflation does not marry to the wage inflation!!!!

Britain sux!!!

And the whole world knows it.
Rather than wasting you're time moaning on here you'd be best served filling in emmigration papers!!

Since the first of April, the National Pump Price average for Petrol has risen 1.5p/litre to 108.70p/litre. The National Pump Price average for Diesel has risen 3.20p/litre to 118.60p/litre.

The price of Spot Crude in NW/Europe has risen from $99.11/Bbl to 114.99/Bbl, a gain of 15.88/Bbl in the same amount of time. Why are people so surprised at Fuel Prices?

There seems to be a widely held misconception, that Diesel is cheaper to produce than Petrol.

This may have been true some years ago in the days of "Derv", but no longer the case. Refiners in the UK and Europe produce more Diesel from a Bbl of Crude Oil than Petrol, as opposed to their North American counterparts. Mainly because of the demand for Diesel by Industry and Transport.

Diesel is produced at higher temperatures than Petrol, and uses more "energy", plus the Sulpher Content now stands at 10/ppm, not 2000/ppm as in past times. This alone has pushed the price up, not to mention the recent "Biofuel" addage.

Countries could raise their output of Crude Oil, but it cannot be refined fast enough to keep up with demand. So it becomes pointless very quickly, try building a new refinery it's virtually impossible in the UK or Europe. Enviromental concerns are at a preminum.

The British Government cannot adjust the Import Duty or VAT, because of EU rules. It would be viewed as a subsidy by the EU, and opposed by them. In fact the EU is pushing for a rise in the VAT, and more in line with their levels of 20%.

Overall, the cost of motoring can do nothing else but rise, sad but true.

The price of fuel is getting well out of hand now, £1.13 per litre, it's gone up by around 40% in the last year alone.

I have an idea that the price per barrell is going to keep on going up & up & u guessed it up.

Apparently the countries that produce most of the oil depend on it for virtualy all their income & are in colusion with Opec to keep the prices high.

They could easily produce more to bring the price down but won't because they are greedy, what needs to happen is our governments need to get together & put preassure on Opec because they are the controllers in the market place.


It seems as if there is any slight event where fuel is concerned it's just another excuse to put the price up, the oil companies now think we are used to paying the high prices & know that we will do nothing & just accept it.

Unfortunately if it continues in this way 50% of motorist's will be driven off the roads, not only that fuel is making food & other everyday essentials very expensive now so most will be spending money on bills & there will be nothing left for luxurys' .

We need to do something about this & fast as I think before the end of the year we will be paying £1.50 per litre. £100 to fill ya car up is just around the corner if we let the greedy oil companies etc carry on how they are.

229: I absolutely agree with your sentiments, but saw them after my posting - new to the site today! It's scandalous and if I were able to walk everywhere I would because it's just getting completely out of control.

If the Government aren't increasing the fuel prices, who is then? I bought a diesel car at the beginning of March when diesel was £1.08p per litre yet today I note that it is £115.9 per litre? Considering the country went mad (quite rightly) when fuel hit £1.00, this is a massive increase in such a short period of time and doesn't seem to be stopping!

Please can someone explain to me why diesel is now on average 10 pence per litre more expensive than petrol? The cynic in me suggests that it is simply the oil companies knowing that many of us have bought diesels to try to cut costs are seeking to claw back loads more dosh so they can make even more obscene profits. I do find it amazing that we are all sitting here quietly taking it with no signs of the concerted action taken at the beginning of the century when fule was a fraction of what it costs today! I am about to retire and am facing the prospect that I will have to give up my car because my pension (also badly hit by this government) simply will not stretch to running a car.
Happy retirement huh!

I am afraid that the situation has now reached boiling point in the area where i live ROSSENDALE PRICES NOW AVERAGING £1. 009p PER LITRE
SURELY WITH ALL THE PROBLEMS COMING UP WITH SCOTLAND THIS WEEKEND BIG TROUBLE I AM AFRAID.
SORRY FOR GOING ON BUT THE SITE IS BRILLIANT UPTO THE MINUTE DETAILS WELL DONE YOUR A BRILLIANT TEAM.

226: have you read any of the comments in this blog? It's time for a reality check. You will never see sub-£1 / ltr prices ever again.

After reading the post comment by; Glenn Watson, 12th March 2008;
I have decided to copy and paste and email everyone i know in a bid to help cut down the price of petrol/deisel.

Please can everyone else reading on follow on and do the same, we need to make a stance once and for all.

Post 221 Nigel, re the Grangemouth strikers.
You may be interested to know that the average package at Grangemeouth is £60k, so not exactly breadcrumbs is it? INEOS (the company) wants to stop the final salary pension for any NEW employees and will keep it for all existing employees.

For the first time the employees will have to make a contribution to their retirement. INEOS has proposed a 6% employee contribution, phased in over the next 6 years. This pension plan is far better then most of us have so not much sympathy with the unions, they're just causing trouble trying to be dinosaurs again. Don't picket the place it won't help us if fuel doesn't get out will it?

Sure, vote against an incompetent government at every chance you get. One report I recently read show how the incompetents have wasted a trillion (thousand billion) pounds since 1997, that is wasted a trillion of our money.

Since the budget i thought that the price of fuel was to stay as it is till October i think i must have got that wrong as virtually every week the price of petrol/diesel is going up and up and up is there anything we can do to try to make fuel cheeper, sorry to waffle and many thanks for reading this Lisa xx

So Vegetable Oil, Parafin and Red Diesel appear to be the low tax alternatives, anyone fancy starting the first Vegetable Oil fuel station?

The government increase the cost of fuel each year in the budget, plus the suppliers increses, but the mileage rate offered for business use has remained unchanged since 2002 ( see Inland Revenue web site ) - so take the fuel price increase since then, plus all the other associated motoring costs the business user in well out of pocket.

Be warned that a strike is due to take place at Grangemouth refinery. The strike is due to take place on the 27th and 28th April - however,for safety reasons the refinery is being shut down NOW and may be down for up to a month. 10% of all UK fuel comes from there. But worse, most North Sea oil is piped into Grangemouth and this will be shut off - expect therefore for oil price to surge above $120 per barrel this week.

If you are angry about the pump price then seriously consider giving support to the union UNITE. This government simply has to be got rid of.

Support can be shown by standing around the gates of your local refinery/depot. There may be laws against organised secondary action by unions, and fuel blockades, but peaceful shows of support by individuals are perfectly legal, and may initiate supportive action from other fuel tanker driver unions.

We need to stand up and speak and show the goverment that we are not fools.
we all drivers not just diesel customers but all people who drive cars need to block all petrol stations fuel plants so no feul goes to petrol stations. if everyone stops buying road tax, it will be impossiable for the goverment to fine or jail us as it will halt the system. we are charged through the roof we pay the highest tax in europe. our wages are the same. the goverment says inflation is 2.5% which all uk public knows it not true. WE SIT STILL LIKE DOLLS AND DO NOTHING
its time we stood up and show the goverment that its us joe public that pays for everything

If the Labour party think that the ministerial revolt is the reason why voters are flocking away from them, they really do have a much bigger problem than they think they do.

The 10p tax issue is nothing more than the straw that broke the camels back and now spin master Tony is no longer there, the public have woken up and realised just how rubbish this latest version of the labour part really are!

You reap what you sow.

From Stealth Taxes and a massively a over complicated tax credits scheme. to private car clamping companies who ignore government guidelines with little regard for the consequences.

From congestion charges that don't relieve congestion. To uncontrolled immigration.

From Speed Camera Partnerships who congratulate themselves for prosecuting pensioners at 36mph, while being totally incapable of catching owners of satnavs at a 120. ..To paying VAT on top of Fuel Duty.

From Illegal wars in foreign countries that everyone knows is for oil that have still failed to secure oil to ignoring the plight of Zimbabweans who don't have oil.

For Binge Drinking Anti social behaviour and gun and knife carrying teenagers with no fear of authority and more importantly no hope of a decent career, to Ministerial perks like paying their own families and the tax payer funding their second homes.

Not to mention

A divided multicultural mish mash of a society that clearly doesn't work and is probably never going to.

A big rise in unworkable legislation, but reluctance to pay the police resulting in low moral and unrest in the forces.

Closures of essential emergency services and the decline of the remaining ones.

Sending our Armed Forces overseas ill equipped and under manned.

For allowing Heathrow terminal 5 in the first place while on the verge of a dwindling supply of aviation fuel.

For abject failure to recognise the needs of the electorate in preference for a plethora of hair brained ill conceived untested policies.

And even for upsetting the pigeon fanciers..............


VOTE LABOUR, you know it makes sense.

(Please feel free to add anything they're so proud of not achieving)

I have just been charged £5-28 per gallon for diesel, when is this theft going to stop? When are we going to do something about it?

It would shift the encumbant incompetant government thats what it would acheive and don't then go on to say that the others are no better, we all know that, it's so obvious it actually hurts, because there's no such thing as winning an election, the voter simply elects the lesser of the available evils.

If you're naive enough to become apathetic while waiting for a political party with a clear agenda that is going to make a significant change to the well being of the UK to arrive, you're going to be waiting a very very long time, but if you remind them their careers are in the publics hands you may well force the next government to rethink it's ideas on reform, especially if we vote them straight out at the end of the next term if they're not doing their jobs very well either.

At the moment the UK works for the government, not as it should be, the other way around.

If you choose to do nothing, then the result is your responsibility and you can whine on as much as you like about how the public need to change, because it's never going to happen, we're in this mess for a reason, the only power the public has is to unsettle and shift administrations, thats why we're in this mess after thrity years of pathetic uncontrolled incompetant government.

Ok, vote another party in...

What would that achieve?

and by the way, when we emerge from this crisis just in time for a general election amongst boasting of Gordon Browns prowess in all things financial.

Remember that it's your horrendous taxation burden today and in the year or so to come, that has allowed the greatest political slight of hand since we last saw the magician David Nixon on the television.

Get him out of power, he is a mad man.

I hate to contradict all you people who're saying that fuel prices are nothing to do with the government, but.

If our so called 'prudent' prime minister and former chancellor had heeded warnings of the impending crisis and used times of plenty to conserve financial resources instead of squandering wealth on every half baked scheme they could think of as well as wars overseas.

Then perhaps the tax element of fuel wouldn't be driving the UK economy into the ground.

No one is arguing that fuel prices are rising, but that does nothing more than perform a windfall bonus to the government who've squandered so much and prepared so little.

The price of a barrel of oil and carbon footprints cannot be used as excuses for blatant incompetence and ineptitude in government.

There are no market signs that Petrol/Diesel Pump Prices are about to fall, in fact the opposite. Both fuels continue to gain on the "Products Market", Petrol averaged 36.40p/litre over the last week up from 35.10p/litre the previous week. Average "Pump Price" could reach 110p/litre this coming week.

Diesel is much the same story, averaging 44.87p/litre over the last week up from 43.84p/litre over the previous week. It's average "Pump Price" could reach 120p/litre this coming week.

Both fuels took a big jump with the inclusion of the 2.5% Biofuel legislation. Refiners passing their costs on to the consumer, as expected.

In North America they are in shock, Petrol now averages $3.39cts/gallon across the States, and Diesel now averages $4.06cts/Gallon. Fuel prices worldwide are going through the roof.

The price of Crude Oil is artificialy high, caused by "speculators and hedge funds" looking for a safe haven for their funds from the credit crunch, and weak dollar or laughingly called "market forces". The present government cannot do anything about fuel prices, as most of their money is busy bailing "The Banks" out of trouble. So much for our stable economy.

gordon brown and his labour party have shown the uk what they can offer us as a goverment in power.NOTHING AT ALL.they are tax robbers.
the uk is now branded as rip off britain.
tony blair and gordon brown dont listen to the good hard working people of britain.
i have now branded labour as useless!!!!
tax tax tax tax tax by the labour party.well done gordon!

I AM SO FED UP WITH THE DAILY PRICE RISE IN PETROL PRICES THAT I AM NOW CONSIDERING CONTACTING MY M.P. NO OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEM SEEMS TO RISE AS FAST AND NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS. HAS ANYONE OUT THERE ANY IDEAS? It is very difficult for the self employed like myself who rely on their car to get to their work and obtain materials. I think its about time we all banded together to do something. Otherwise petrol will continue to rise, put people out of business or hit everyone in the pocket as all goods transported to us will cost far more. Come on people-We can't just do nothing. Can't we just start a protest to M.P s and officialdom. Who's up for it?

I AM SO FED UP WITH THE DAILY PRICE RISE IN PETROL PRICES THAT I AM NOW CONSIDERING CONTACTING MY M.P. NO OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEM SEEMS TO RISE AS FAST AND NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS. HAS ANYONE OUT THERE ANY IDEAS? It is very difficult for the self employed like myself who rely on their car to get to their work and obtain materials. I think its about time we all banded together to do something. Otherwise petrol will continue to rise, put people out of business or hit everyone in the pocket as all goods transported to us will cost far more. Come on people-We can't just do nothing. Can't we just start a protest to M.P s and officialdom. Who's up for it?

I cannot believe that the british public have not yet become vocal in response to the fact that petrol/diesel prices seem to be rising daily. This is becoming ridiculous for people like myself who are self employed and have to allow for price rises, as my work involves using my car to carry out work privately and to collect goods needed for my work. I now fill up my tank as far as possible as the next time I go, guaranteed it will have jumped by at least a penny or two per litre- I drive a 2.1 diesel peugeot estate, necessary for my work or else I would get something smaller. However no other item of household consumption seems to be rising as fast. I really am thinking of contacting my M.P. It is so annoying. Anyone else have any ideas?

206 and 207

The price is going up because the price of crude oil is going up. Nothing to do with the government. It's all about supply and demand and the weakening dollar.

Paid 117p for diesel last week - ouch!, paid 121p today - double ouch!!. What's going on? How can these huge rises be justified, especially by the government's %age tax method. Is a fuel strike innevitable - maybe, but I think the first step is to vote Labour out in the upcoming local elections. That would send a very strong message that if they want to survive, they have to change their current attitude of 'motorists being cash cows and easy tax targets'.