Isn't it about time we had more fuel protests in the UK?

Question

The price of a litre of unleaded petrol at my local Tesco (normally the cheapest in the area) has risen by 5p in just over a week.

The price of petrol is rapidly reaching the point where people can no longer afford to go to work - if the public transport system was up to scratch then this would not matter, but it isn't. And over 80% of the cost of petrol on the forecourts goes directly to the government as taxes! What are they doing with it?

After the last blockades of fuel depots the government made it illegal to do so again.

My question is this: I'm willing to risk getting arrested blockading a fuel depot if in the long run it stops my government from robbing me blind.

Are you?

Or do you have a better idea?

And for you environmental-types - if you have a better way for me to get to work from Essex to London then I'm all ears.

Answer 1

Hey your right we in this country don't complain or should I say force the issues that are squashing us to death by protesting hard say like the french who cripple the country until they get what they want their government to listen. Petrol prices are beyond me it is a total rip off like all the parking enforcement industry councils on the money milking band waggon and that bum hole London mayor Congestion charges Council taxes the list goes on we live in RIP OFF BRITAIN . I live in London Red Ken wants to introduce a Congestion charge for the Blackwall tunnel that i use daily to get to work. if i use public transport i would have to use two trains and a bus to get to work and the same for the return journey. it takes me a hour and a half to go to work. By car its less than half an hour.  He wants to charge us  ÃƒÂ‚£8.00 per day which i could not aford. The tunnel had a counter flow sysytem in place but  he put a stop to it that made for a bad blockage t then use this problem which he created as a weak point to make the law for making more money for his coffers as the area has become more congested. It would only need an extra two lanes and there would be no problem .

The you have Gordon BROWN who stole millions from our pensions and other taxes. TAX ,TAX, TAX, TAX, going on your holidays ??? More tax !!!!  If your a hard working person who wants to own your home have a car and other things which you should have because you have earned it honestly for get it ..if the goverment don't rob you the the crooks will as there are no strong laws for these people.

Then there is the US embassy in london who owes over 20million pounds in unpaid C C FINES

Answer 2

Sadly the last fuel demonstration was just beginning to bite when the protesters being honourable and decent people called because they did not want the innocent to suffer, such as hospitals. They forgot or did not realise that government is about power and power alone. As a consequence they snatched defeat from victory. The lesson to be learnt even in a so called democracy is that governments will take no notice of the honourable and decent unless blood is spilt, and then they will blame the victim

Answer 3

hey man, im from the usa, Chicago Illinois to be exact we should organize a group boycott we all need to band together to make these prices fall.

Answer 4

The cost of fuel in the UK is ridiculous, and simply I can't afford it if it keeps rising the way it is.

The last time fuel got near a £1 a litre there were lots of protests , this time nothing ? The boss of Shell had commented roughly a fortnight ago that prices were to fall as the cost of a barrell was relatively constant, and then the exact opposite is happening.

I used to work in a petrol station and actually the profit margins for the petrol station on petrol is minute, they make there money on the economies of scale and the shop, which most usually have.

Gordon Brown should really address this problem. He seems to bury his head in the sand and ignore lots of issues until it suits, like the post strikes etc... if it hadn't been resolved it could have cost the country millions is lost revenue.

Thing is no-one will listen to the general consumer that much, we will just be told to car share, or use public transport (I would if it was better and cheaper !!) or cycle (well if I wanted to cycle, I wouldn't have bought a car - the guys that need to kick up a fuss about it are Haulage firms, Airlines, Farmers , like last time.

£1 a litre arggghhhh, I was watching an old epsiode of the Bill  from around 1996 and see a petrol station in one of the scenes, it was 54p a litre - what a difference ten years of Labour makes lol

Answer 5

my my you are upset   i wont suggest any of the points you mentioned but suggest you move house and get another job where you can afford to live

Answer 6

CR, if it's the oil companies that's robbing us then why is it only the UK that pay this much? It's the bleeding tax on it that's crippling us all!

Answer 7

another way the government could supplement the cost of fuel is to actually charge these foreign trucks that use our roads, pollute our country ,break our laws and contribute nothing!!!! they fit long range tanks fill up in france where its cheaper and avoid our tax when we go abroad we pay road tolls maybe if we re-couped some of the costs from these "drivers" for unpaid tax,accidents,speeding fines,and damage to our roads from being illegally overweight ,1/2 could go to taxman and 1/2 to improving public transport helping both tree huggers and drivers get what they want

Answer 8

I say we should, and get some extremist protesters in, pouring some of the good (but expensive) stuff on themselves and setting themselves on fire.

That would really help get the message across.

However - if push comes to shove with shortages for megapolitical reasons (say Saudi stops supply)... get ready for UK Gov to enforce a legal ban on all 2 seater cars and 2.0L+ cars too.

Answer 9

Fat lot of good protesting - the Government wants your money and will take it and raise the proverbial to any protestors - that is if they cannot arrest them.

AND it's no good telling me to vote for the other lot they are all as bad. I just write 'none of the above' on my voting slip. Fat lot of good that does to except make me feel better by making a minor protest!

RoyS.

Answer 10

Rip off Britain, that's one of the reasons I left the place 3 years ago mate.

I am paying the equivalent of 38 pence a litre where I am now and that was with a 10 % rise this week in it's cost to cover the latest price of a barrel of crude.

Answer 11

I'm with you all the way. These politicians get paid an enormous salary plus an enormous expense account for robbing us blind. I can remember about 35 years ago when Labour came to power and the first law they passed was for them to get a huge pay rise and the second law was a pay freeze for the rest of us. The time has come to stand and be counted.

Answer 12

The government isn't robbing you, it's the oil companies.

Answer 13

i say if you do not like what you pay get a bike,push bike that is

Answer 14

We've got natural storms in the North sea, and America made ones in the Middle East... I'm afraid petrol price spikes are inevitable. The problem is, oil is needed in so many things that we take for granted that if an oil company wants to put the prices up, we can either sit and swivel, or endure and go on.

We need more than just protests over oil in my opinion. The way things are at the moment, we need a complete overhaul of the way governments and business are conducted. Of course there won't be any protest over anything until the very last second when it's too late. It's how we are.

At the moment, I imagine most people would be far more likely to protest against the banning of credit cards than the absolute shafting they get on a daily basis from government and business. Ho hum.

Answer 15

it needs to be cheaper, thats worse then the V.A.T.

Answer 16

I would rather protest poor public transportation system. In the place where I live, the bus comes every 30 minutes. Yes, THE bus, the one and only bus. Which in turn means I'd have to schedule my life around bus schedule. I would much rather take a bus, if it was available. The bus they use here a huge enormous thing with only 3-5 passengers in it. Why not get a bunch of smaller buses and run them more often? Maybe people would start using them.

Answer 17

Are you really sincere when you say "If the public transport system was up to scratch"? Is it not that you just want cheap petrol like most other car owners.

Have a protest concerning the use of tax money from petrol instead.

If everyone didn't live in one place and work in another remote location, the problem might not be so acute. Although considering the property prices in London I can't blame you for not living there.

(edit) You d**k! If you work for the underground and you think the public transport system is bad you should make some noise about it. If you're not willing to do that and you want a car, pay for your petrol and shut the f*** up!

Looking at the people who ahve been thumbed down, this thread is being read by the regular oil l and car lovers fraternity!

Answer 18

How about the entire country, for one day,try to get to work using this great  public transport system they keep banging on about. It would be great to watch the country standing in a queue for the day as it buckled under the strain.

They keep beating us with the stick with tax on fuel, tax on cars, tax on the roads, road pricing, congestion charges. That's all in addition to the greens trying to make us feel as guilty as h**l for using the car, but there is not one real alternative to the average man to get to work other than use his car.

Yes we need to protest, BUT we need something a little more imaginative than the standard "Fuel Protest"

Answer 19

A better way to get to work from Essex to London would be..... work nearer home (or preferably in it).

This would reduce your fuel bill (allowing you to take a lesser wage), it would reduce your stress levels cos your not driving through all that traffic and it would improve your carbon footprint.  

Everyones a winner !!!

PS. If you say you cannot work nearer home, then you have no option but to pay the bill !

Fuel prices and taxes are helping to force people to use alternative transport options like trains etc.

So lets think........ We can help to save the planet with high fuel prices .....OR...... you can get to work convieniently in your car !!!!!!!   HMMMMMMM.

(I am not particularly eco friendly myself, but thats the argument your gonna get)

Answer 20

When they started closing hospitals a local person would stand against a Government MP at the National Elections. Maybe something similar should be done nationwide concerning petrol.

Threatening these people seats is only way these people listen to the "ordinary person".

Good Luck

Answer 21

I don't live in the UK, but you are right. It's about time everyone, everywhere began to protest the price of fuel.

It's amazing how much c**p people will take from their governments before they begin to rise up, if at all.

It seems that in this day and age, no one is willing to fight for anything anymore.