It’s Your Duty: join the PetrolPrices.com campaign to stop another fuel tax hike

Your regular update email always quotes the same garage.

It's consistently the MOST expensive garage in my area, so I suspect something else is going on...

Some of us old ones have to rely on a car because of the distance to shops
hosptals etc, simply because of poor public transport;
I petrol continues to rise we will have to get rid of our car, as we will not be
able to afford to run it, what then?

How mutch longer can we put up with more fuel increases we can't..Food prices will increase .Let every body support the road HAULAGE ASSOCIATION ON a rolling road block

why is the goverments answer to everything tax they put it and use exuses of it for the enviroment. B(*&%&* stop flying around in million £ jets and having big pentens and mite believe you Tossers.

I joined PetrolPrices.com as it seemed I would get a voice to help bring down the crippling petrol prices that we have in this country .. from the very beginning I have never yet heard any organisation or news programme talk about PetrolPrices.com in the context of helping to get reductions in petrol prices forced through .. in fact prices have in the main steadily risen totally unchecked unchecked.
In fact over the months all PetrolPrice.com's very principles seem to have gone out the window and members now only seem to be useful to make the site money .. !
Sadly for me it's now all too late .. I can no longer afford to keep a car on the road .. my car was my last shred of independence .. as I cannot use public transport due to my ongoing disabilities .. so from now on I will be housebound.

My expectations from PetrolPrices.com were just to get my voice along with others heard .. shame it didn't work out .. and I can see no reason to stay with the site car or no car .. because it certainly hasn't done any good at all that I can see.

Notice how a 2p rise in Duty give the reseller License to add 2 p to the Price on top of the duty rise...... Racketeering. B%$&%*#

Fix the COST to under £1.

It is easy - just BOYCOTT B.P. & ESSO for the rest of the year; they will bring their prices down and the others will have to follow suit !

I need to drive to get to my customers and it is really hard - not passing on the extra costs, so Please Boycott the two big boys!

These petrol prices are crippling - how do businesses cope with this and who is footing the bill for their cost increases except us long-suffering Joe Public who is also suffering. However, the Government are taking a huge percentage as tax. I'm a mature student and a lone parent trying anything I can to fend for myself and support us both yet you get financially punished at every turn with this Government. Please, please, please anybody who reads this vote at this Election - anybody but Labour - this corrupt, self-serving, inept, incompetent Government are no longer fit to Govern us. It may be a record low-turnout, worse than last time, meaning that passivity will give them more time to irreversibly destroy the UK further.

Come on lets hit the government where it hurts lets organise a day where no body uses there cars, and all use public transport and watch this money grabbing party wince as the whole of the public transport system, and the country grinds to a messy halt.
Better than a good fall of snow,eh!
Businesses will be short on employee's because no body gets to work on time, the government will lose millions in revenue and of course the oil companies who in their words "hardly make any money on fuel" please do they think we are all stupid, will be rethinking their brand image.


So come on UK lets start standing up for ourselves and fight back, don't they realise the MORE they charge the LESS is used, the LESS we use the LESS revenue they collect. ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE Mr Darling Stop crippling the working man and hit the tax dodging multi million conglomerates.

We should stop this madness of a PM who has lost is way on petrol prices he give loads and loads of money to the banks, and now we are paying it back by high tax on petrol and derv. the prime Minster don’t give a dam for the disabled who need there cars as they are a life line, but he is putting us of the road every thing goes up apart from our money.
It would make sence to lower the tax and vat and get the country working again but to do that we need to get rid of this lame goverment.

Today I had to fill up my car and it was 113.9 per litre at Sainsburys, some garages are charging 119.9 in my area! This is a disgusting price especially as oil is not that expensive at the moment. About 70p of this is tax for the government and they are not spending my money wisely at all. Enough is enough. Not so long ago petrol was well below a £1 a litre. I agree with Rob's comment its about time the government started listening to us and we started doing something about it! It wouldn't be so bad if we had a decent transport system but we don't so we all have to rely on our cars especially those who are rural. I feel sorry for those people who have long journeys to work it must be costing them a fortune! These high prices are adding to inflation and making the items we buy in the shops more expensive such as food etc. I feel better now I have had a moan!

Everything that we buy is taxed, food, petrol, cars, we also pay tax on the wages that we bring home and any money we inherrit. This government has the whole population over a barrel (an oil barrel?!) It seems really unfair that although we are bound by what the government says, we are the ones that elected them, pay their wages and their outrageous expenses claims! Something needs to change, we need someone honest in No10 and the government as a whole. Politicians seem to have forgotten that not only are we their customers, but were also the masses- the ones who pay for their lavish lifestyles. Bumping up the price of petrol is just another way to control the population, if the rise in petrol gets too much, how can people get to and from work? Then there will be more people on unemployment, and then we will be taxed more on everything to pay for those who couldnt afford to pay for the stuff in the first place. Im not a political activist, or a geniuos- but even I can figure this one out! Maybe its time for the masses to revolt?- Maybe its time for the politicians to start listening to their customers?

you are supposed to be working persons party.by putting up fuel prices every product and service increases in price, driving more people below the poverty line,thus paying more benifits and causing more tax increases and increasing prices.please think about the voters who. lets have no more repeats of the 1970,s.

my wife cannot walk more than 100yds without pain,so useing a car is a must.we own our own house and have to pay all our bills ourselves.we get no benifits of any kind and manage on just ore basic pensions.our car is our lifeline.when we go on holiday we go by coach,it can be difficult getting on or off a coach.a bus pass is ok ,but we have to walk half a mile to the nearest bus stop.so a car is a must have.the price rise in desiel has forced us to remain at home.signed-disgruntled old git

Chris (224) - For a good swathe of MPs I think it's not that they are there to line their pockets, but that there are vested interests who want us to think that so that turnout in elections stays nice and low and their "chosen sons" get in. Compared to for instance what they spent invading Iraq all the expenses claims put together are barely worth thinking about!

I happen to believe the ACCC stuff is true, but either way as oil runs out and gets to cost more we need to make alternatives viable. With the wider economy jiggered it's hard to subsidise green tech so I suspect taxing non-green tech is the only option on the table. Left to its own devices the market just won't move quickly enough.

Hi Richard,

I was in UK a few weeks back and was astounded at the variance in fuel prices. In Dover it was around 109p, whilst in the Northwest it was 103p at the beginning of the week, rising to 105p by the end of the week. The highest I saw was just north of Whitchurch in Shropshire, it was a staggering 115p.

Talking about the Supermarket prices, I got a 5p of a litre voucher for shopping in Tesco, so the 100 litres I required for my return journey cost me 100p instead of 105p.

Incidentally the cheapest fuel at the moment seems to be in Belgium where it is still around 90p

Hi,

I like everyone else am disgusted at the ever increase in fuel charge, it has got to a point where we need to start taking some strong action or we, the driver, will be made to pay for the financial situation that this Government has put us in!
We all moan about the cost of fuel but very few of us are willing to do anything about it, we just let the Government walk all over us without question. Lets start to get together and say "NO MORE!".
What really frustrates me are those people that are willing to pay over and above the cost for fuel! I travel, on average, approximately 1000 miles per week as part of my job. Yes, I do get to claim my business mileage back but that does not stop me wanting to bring the cost of fuel back down to a reasonable and acceptable level, around 70p per Ltr. What I can't understand are those of us that are willing to buy fuel from motorway services! I am currently paying £1.04 for diesel yet some motorway service are charging in excess of £1.13, WHY? and more importantly, WHY ARE WE ACCEPTING THIS!
We should all buy ourfuel from a supermarket!
Avoid paying these extra costs by making sure you fill up before you get on the motorway - if you do get caught short you don't have to come far out of your way to find a supermarket.
If we all start using the Supermarkets we may be able to get them into a bidding war which will drive the cost down.

WE NEED TO STOP THIS NOW!!

The oil companies tell us that it takes approximately 6 weeks for the price of crude oil to be reflected in the retail price charged at the fuel service stations. 6 weeks ago the price of a 200 litre barrel of crude oil was $65.61, or £39.66, which equates to £0.1983 per litre. So how does it come about that 6 weeks later, we are still being grossly RIPPED OFF by the oil companies & the government, & we are having to unfairly endure paying, at best, - £1.039 per litre, and at worst, - £1.079 per litre?

I would like to see a comparison between fuel and oil prices over the last 10 years and just see how much we are getting ripped off by the fuel companies charging way over what they should and making massive profits which doesn't benefit anyone but the greedy company CEO's like Shells massive 18 billion profit in this years first quarter. surely there must be a law against monopolizing the market and taking advantage over what people have to have for there daily lives. every other product comes down in price when there is a higher demand but the fuel companies just cheep increasing there prices. IT MUST STOP WHERE IN A RECENSION FOR GOD'S SAKE

Greeting. Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.
I am from Vanuatu and learning to write in English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "A killed dispute is a many employment improved to have the rock temporarily in the connecting trick with a considerable look ranged."

Regards :-) Sabine.

Hello. I was gratified to be able to answer promptly. I said I don't know.
I am from Afghanistan and learning to write in English, give true I wrote the following sentence: "hair replacement san antonio tx."

With best wishes 8), Goldy.

Has anyone noticed that the price for petrol is slowing increasing again? I paid 101.9p/l at a Morrisons station yesterday. Is it not time we started campaigning again???

i was just wondering, how do we pay a , , (DUTY) on fuel then we pay a (TAX).its the same thing,TAX us poor to death

I just re-read article 219 from Roger. That first paragraph really kicks us in the teeth in view of the current fiasco in Westminster.

Quote "we are regarded by politicians as incapable of managing our affairs responsibly" Unquote.

I am left with this question ................. is there any point writing to any MP?

All they seem to be interested in is lining their own pockets, paying off non-existant mortgages, feeding their dogs, hiring porno films, digging moats, buying bookcases, fixing their swimming pools, ad infinitum ............ and guess who's taxes are paying for it?

Why does the Government set up organizations to catch benefit thieves when they need look no further than the Palace of Westminster?

As a owner of a diesel car that gets reduced rate of road tax because diesel is a cleaner fuel, I cannot understand why we pay more for diesel. Surely the government should encourage the use of diesel on our roads if its more environmentally friendly by reducing the tax, which should then have a knock on effect with cost on deliverying food to our shops

Anyway I think we need to be like France and stand up for ourselves

Talking to Politicians is a complete waste of time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Try watching one being interviewed on TV .................. whenever a direct question about a delicate subject is asked just watch how evasive they are.

Gordon Brown is a past master at the art of deception .................... he would have made a GREAT tennis player because whenever the ball comes near him, he always manages to knock it away from himself.

Chris,
It is absolutely standard, when writing to ministers, civil servants or whips, that it takes three letters to get anything other than a "stock" answer, stright off the wordprocessor.
Roger

I wrote to my MP immediately as soon as I saw the alert email from petrolprices.com, using the supplied link through to the 'Write to Them'
site. I wrote a fairly considered and balanced letter which focussed on a particular gripe I have, in that I run an older diesel car - purchased with economy, not so much performance in mind - only to be hit by the comparatively
recently introduced cynical differential that now makes diesel more
expensive at the pumps than unleaded. As many will know, historically,
diesel has always been 'favoured', presumably to encourage use of more economic vehicles. I believe this is unique in Europe?
I received a reply after just over a week but wonder if the Party Machine had beaten me (and fellow petrolpricers) to it. It smacked of being an
absolutely 'stock' response, dealt only with widely raised general points re. fuel duties, and paid NO HEED WHATEVER to the specific point I had raised re. the diesel pump price differential.
My MP is a Government Whip. Enough said??!! Have other campaigners also met with a stock response?

Re #214...#218
Not really off the point, Chris (#217/8); the point is that high taxation is one product of a mind-set that regards it as inapproriate for people to be allowed to make financial decisions for themselves, presumably because we are regarded by politicians as incapable of managing our affairs "responsibly" (whatever that means). Tax on fuel is one element of this mind-set, currently fashionable because it is a new tax stream, created on bandwaggon of "anthropogenic causes of climate change" (ACCC), attractive because direct taxes became (and remain) unpopular in the 1970s, whereas ACCC has created a moral justification as a stick to beat critics.

To my tiny mind, two posits are now required: first and more immediately a concerted refutation of the ACCC gobbledegook; second an emerging consensus that taxation is theft.

Mr Blair (remember him?) succeeded in disassociating the notion of "support for public services" (good) from "big government and high taxation" (bad), so establishing the notion that you can have one without the other (disinformation, alias "spin"). Not only has the Blair spin allowed in the Labour Party to revert to its old habits, but it has also spawned a much more sinister "control" ethic, espousing central databases, networks of statutory informers demanding "ID" on a variety of entirely spurious excuses and an emerging mind-control culture, exercised through contractual obligations created at every interface between a burgeoning public sector and the hard-pressed businesses that provide services to it. This network of controls is perhaps more subtle than the former KGB control of the old Soviet system, but it has become almost as perfusive.

Indications from Mr Cameron, so far, are not encouraging. Not only has he failed to cut through the congealing soup of disinformation, but he has hmself jumped on the bandwaggon of ACCC. He will, of course, have his honeymoon, during which he will be able to get away with almost anything. What worries me is that has created very little "clear blue water"; instead, he appears to have fallen into the error, characteristic of the Tory party during the dreary 1950s and '60s, of trying to out-socialise the Socialists. The real political issue seems to me to be that elevation of "public services" to unassailable status is much the same as saying that people cannot be trusted to spend their own earnings, so it is incumbent on the State to take as much as possible of that burden away from them.

As long as that issue remains obfuscated, the primary focus for government must be to raise ever-increasing revenue and find ever more targets for spending it. Concomitantly, because taxation is unpopular, new excuses must be invented to justify ever-higher taxes; hence, the "moral" justification for "green" taxes.

I am not sure that this helps much, but I come back to the point I floated in #211. The ACCC bandwaggon has been developed by a "bottom up" approach. It needs a similar approach to derail it. Local government elections are not the only places to start, but there is not much point in my throwing out other suggestions without some indication that the seed is falling on fertile ground.

Roger

I realize my last post is totally of the point put it's nice to be able to "Air ones opinion" in a public forum.

Chris

Brian #216,

Sorry it takes a while to respond I'm in Brazil at the moment.

Your response is reasoned and well presented, (you'd be great in a debating society).

If my memory serves me correctly the slide into total recession began with the collapse of the Lehman Bank in the USA.

I remember watching the CEO squirm in front of a Senate Commitee as he tried to justify his obscene annual salary for 2007/2008 ($250,000,000) even though he knew in January of 08 that the bank was in dire trouble.

Fat Cats that behave in this manner should be looking at the world from behind bars in my opinion, including the ex CEO of RBS.

As for the inevitable demise of this government next May, sadly David Cameron is going to have to make the country swallow an awful dose of medicine to sort this mess out. I just hope Joe Public accepts and remembers the reasons for it.

Opening myself up for a tirade of abuse I personally cannot wait for the Tories to get back in. Under Thatcher if you put the effort in you got the benefits out. Socialism is and always has been a recipe for abuse of the welfare state.

Chris

OK Chris #215 - you disagree - but I'm not sure what with? I would agree with your points in general - particularly the antipathy to the BNP and the poor handling (of almost everything) by the current administration. The concerns about MP's expenses and bank CEO's payoffs are merely tabloid fodder designed to 'rabble rouse' in a slightly more sophisiticated way than the rants mentioned in this blog. The amounts of money involved are so small in the scheme of things as to make no difference to the recession. They do however 'stick in the throat' and are unacceptable morally and ethically.

I wouldn't totally agree that "This recession is the result of the collapse on an unregulated banking system" as there are many facets to the problems we face - some undoubted caused by unwise banking practices but by no means all.

Yes, taxpayers pay - who else can? Governments don't create wealth - individuals and companies (i.e. taxpayers) do. As crazy as it may sound, we have democratically elected our Government and therefore given them a mandate to act for us and raise money accordingly. If we now think that we have made a mistake (most seem to!) then we will have the opportunity rectify that mistake by May 2010 at the latest. Cue debate about how the rest are as bad etc. etc..........
Brian

Sorry Brian #214 I disagree,

There's a lot of ill feeling towards this government and a lot of people are using this forum as a sounding board.

I just read in the other blog (two running concurrently is not a good idea BTW), one poster showing favour to the BNP. I personally would rather emigrate than have a bunch of Fascists in government.

Let's be honest this government has failed us badly so much so that the media take every opportunity to expose their selfish hypocrisies, MP's misusing their expenses is a prime example.

This recession is the result of the collapse on an unregulated banking system.

It's disgusting to see "Fat Cat" banking CEO's having failed abysmally, fill their pockets with huge payoffs (before departing), from taxpayers money, donated by this government.

Up jump Brown and Darling with harebrained schemes to buy us out of the recession, pushing the country into crippling debt for decades while the rest of the EU look on in stunned disbelief at these policies.

WHO PAYS FOR ALL THIS? We the taxpayers.

#213

Yes, looks like a few 'sensible' posts appearing - a few on the current blog too.

Picking a post at random, #161 is a good example of the problem. Shout at everyone, but what is the poster actually doing? Nothing that he advocates I assume! Perhaps he needs to realise that we do have a democratic process in this country and even if there are over 10,000 posts on some of these blogs they represent only a tiny minority of motorists let alone the total population. So much hot air!

Lastly, why the obsession with calling Gordon Brown "unelected"? He was elected - as the MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. We don't elect Prime Ministers in the UK.

No, I'm not a supporter of the Government - but I do advocate reason and sense over ranting and misinformation.
Brian

@ 155. Learjet is awesome; an oasis of information and reason in a sea of shortsighted rabble-rousing. You sir, kick a55.

Whats is the point in having a campaign ? We do not live in a Democracy and this Government and future Governments will simply do what they want to do. That is
the way things are in the United Kingdom.

Its time we stopped pretending that we live in such a perfect Democracy and to start to realise to no one is going to say and no one can do anything about what
a limited number of people in the United Kingdom do.

re 207
Steve,
BBC is the worst offender in promoting the "cars are cooking your
grandchildren and it's all your fault" blame game. The big question is how
to get the truth through to the generality of people against the incessant
propaganda.

Have you noticed how guys like Prof David Bellamy, who does not subscribe
to the "anthropogenic causes of climate change" garbage no longer appears
on television? A few - very few - phone-in contributors have managed to
get through to (eg) Any Answers, but there has been no real debate of the
fundamental issues. The policy appears to be to promote the view that "the
debate is over: it's a fact".

There are elections in June for EU and county councils. How many of our
view will actually stand for local elections? That would be a start in
reversing the trend. Having spent 20 years as a local councillor, I have
done a fair bit of bucking political trends, and county councils are
probably not the ideal place to start, as they are dominated by party
hacks, but one has to begin somewhere.

Any takers?

Roger

This labour government are nothing but a bunch of robbing B******s led by a F*****g idiot who will never win the next election. Fuel duty should be halfed to help the road haulage industry as well as the average motorist.
Remember, Richard Turpin wore a Mask when he robbed people.

We can complain about "GLOBAL WARMING" .... "GREEN TAXES" ad infinitum, but me personally ............ I despise this bunch of crooks we refer to as our Elected Government and our NON-ELECTED Prime Minister.

We as a Nation should demand a General Election and send this bunch of clowns to the Opposition Benches for good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They try to fool us into thinking they are the "Party of the Working Class" ...... "What a load of B0LL0CKS" (excuse my french ladies).

Another fuel hike wouldn't surprise me to be honest, as said by many already, it's us, joe public, who get hammered by the government when they want extra money for something they don't need, for example, politicians in parliament are trying to get an allowance for a SECOND home!!! When many of us can barely afford 1 home!! It's a disgrace!
Another point i want to make is, i recall several months ago about a "survey" being done, to find out how much, people in the uk, are willing to pay for fuel, per litre, before they really do something about it, and the result was that the "majority" were willing to pay up to "£1.50 a litre" before anything serious was done. Now call me paranoid, but i believe the government are taking full advantage of this so called "survey" and will put the price up whenever it suits them, or whenever they want new makeover in their homes!

hi,

re 194 Roger. Spot on.

I think most people now realise we are being hoodwinked by our (G Brown, elected?) leaders.

Even recently on BBC4, a programme showing the adverse effects on the worlds weather is largely due to the jet stream(s).

Only a small passing remark was made to global warming due to human input.

The jet stream is a fairly 'new' phenomenon which is only now being faintly understood. It was shown how different positions of the 'stream' have major influences on the type of winter or summer we have in this country. As it is now closer to circling the more northern hemisphere it is dragging warmer air northwards causing a '''slight''' short term increase in temperature.

Global warming out of control? NO.

PEOPLE... stand up and be counted or just keep paying the taxes with the lame excuse "its for the good of the climate"

Its up to YOU!!

RE. 201, I wrote to my MP, Dan Norris (New Labour) and guess what, no reply. What a waste of space and money.

In reply to the question, what happens to the money from fuel duty and taxes, the local Labour MP's reply was. Money paid on duty and taxes goes in to the general tax fund and Goverment uses this from anything between road schemes to policing, NHS, eduction etc. If this is the case then it's reassuring to know, that if ther is ever a protest rally, our fuel duty has paid for the road we march on, the police, who will try to stop the protest by any means they can and the hospitals to patch up the injures inflicted by the police. Hopefully the duty will also pay for the General Election so we can finally get rid of this goverment that has lost touch with the British People.

If Public Transport wasn't so poor and expensive more people would use it ~ I work just 16 miles from home and it would take 3 buses and a train journey to get there ! I work on a 'new' business park 'out in the sticks' and just off the motorway where the majority of people have no choice but to use their cars to get to work ~ was that 'Good Clean Green Planning' with no decent public transport system to support it ! So penalise the motorist again who have no choice but to use their cars to get to work to earn the money to pay tax on ! Janie

Post #10 - you are spot on! Crude last June/July was $150/barrel and the forecourt was charging £1.34-1.36 tops. Crude is now $47/barrel and some garages are still charging anywhere between £1.03 & £1.06/litre for diesel, which incidentally is the cheaper of the two to manufacturer, Uh, something doesn't ring right here folks! The long and short of it is that we are being fleeced by this government and the oil barons and being true to Bristish form we do diddly squat other than take it on the chin. It is one MASSIVE scam...

Well my local #esso is at 100.09 now for unleaded back over the pound mark its about time something happend

I wrote to my MP Jim Paice (Conservative South East Cambridgeshire) ten days ago and he hasn't bothered to reply - so there you have it democracy in action!