Protect motorist from soaring prices, says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson weighed into the row about fuel taxes last night, calling on the Prime Minister to protect motorists from soaring oil prices.

He said last night: ‘If I were the government, I would think seriously about that fuel duty stabiliser because when it costs more to fill your tank than to fly to Rome, something is seriously wrong.’

The London mayor described filling up his own 1995 Toyota Previa over the weekend, which - including the Sunday papers - came to £80.54.

He wrote in his Daily Telegraph column: ‘Talk about whiskey. It would be cheaper to fill it up with Black label’, adding: ‘The price clobbers small businesses and makes life tough for people in rural areas who don’t have access to good public transport....

‘Petrol is cheaper in virtually every European country than it is in Britain and whatever the reason for the recent spikes we cannot get around the fact that the spikes are jabbing the consumer all the more painfully because the Treasury takes about 60 per cent of your bill in excise.’
 

Now they want to ration petrol: MPs back token scheme as prices are set to hit £8 a gallon by the summer

* Households would be given tokens for fuel in home and cars
* Surplus units could be sold and extra tokens bought

A petrol rationing programme has been proposed by MPs as prices look likely to soar to £8 a gallon this summer.

Households would be given a set number of free energy 'tokens' which would be offset against any fuel burnt in a vehicle or at home, under the proposals made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil.

Under the Tradable Energy Quotas programme, surplus energy units could be sold and extra tokens bought.
Petrol rationing: Plans to give households energy tokens have been proposed in a bid to deal with global energy shortages and the climate change crisis

Petrol rationing: Plans to give households energy tokens have been proposed in a bid to deal with global energy shortages and the climate change crisis

The Coalition Government has so far insisted it has no plans to implement the scheme.

But the all-party committee of 20 MPs said its proposals were necessary to deal with global energy shortages and the climate change crisis.

It comes as the RAC Foundation warned that fuel could hit £1.75 a litre - £8 a gallon - in parts of the country by the summer.

Prices of £1.50 a litre are already being charged in the Orkney Isles.

'Tradable Energy Quotas are the only way we can reduce carbon emissions and at the same time guarantee that everyone gets fair access to limited energy supplies,' said Shaun Chamberlin, co-author of the report into TEQs.

But Luke Bosdet of the AA dismissed the idea as an 'academic's brainwave typically out of touch with reality', according to the Daily Express.

He told the newspaper: 'It sends alarm bells ringing because of its administration and fears of exploitation.

Concern: Philip Hammond admitted that fuel prices have become a problem for cash-strapped drivers

'People will be allowed to trade units they don't use, which as usual will hit the lower-income driver who becomes priced off the road.

'It would be open for abuse by greedy individuals and politicians.'

The Transport Secretary Philip Hammond yesterday admitted that soaring fuel prices are a real ‘problem’ for hard pressed motorists.

And he offered an olive branch to cash-strapped drivers, signalling that there will be action to cut prices in March’s budget.

His intervention turns up the heat on the Treasury, where ministers have argued that the government needs to hang on to the extra revenue from rising pump prices.

Mr Hammond revived the notion of a fair fuel stabiliser, designed to iron out expensive swings in the oil price, despite the opposition of some Treasury mandarins.

He said: ‘Nobody is suggesting there’s not a problem. There clearly is a problem. And it’s partly driven by Labour’s fuel duty increases but it’s partly driven by world oil prices.

‘We’ve got a Budget in eight weeks time. The Chancellor said at the last budget that we’re going to look at the practicality of a fair fuel stabiliser and he will announce his conclusions.’

He said the stabiliser – which would see fuel duty fall as oil prices rise – would ‘smooth out the peaks and troughs in the oil price so we don’t get pump prices shooting up one week and then dropping down again, two or three weeks later.

‘If we want to change people’s behaviour we need to send long term consistent messages and fuel prices spiking all over the place does not help.’

But Robert Chote, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, said a stabiliser would have a negative impact on the economy.

'Our summer analysis suggested that a fair fuel stabiliser would be likely to make the public finances less stable rather than more stable,' he told the Financial Times.

High fuel prices have already caused five per cent of road users to give up their cars altogether, while 48 per cent of drivers say they are using their cars less.

Government sources say Chancellor George Osborne is looking at plans to slash fuel costs for British truck drivers.
soaring cost of filling up

Ministers believe that would prevent a repeat of the fuel blockades in cities and on British motorways which brought the country to a grinding halt in 2000.

The plans being examined would see hauliers claim back VAT on their petrol and diesel costs – or see road tax cut for lorry drivers.

Foreign truckers could also be charged extra for using British roads in order to level the playing field for UK hauliers.

Those with a 10 lorry fleet have seen their fuel bills rise by an average of £14,000 a year.

But the Chancellor is under pressure to go further and use the budget to help ordinary homeowners and small businesses as well as haulage firms.

Andrew Cave of the Federation of Small Businesses said yesterday: ‘After two years of very difficult economic conditions, small businesses are not able to absorb the cost of fuel increases.

‘They are either having to cut back on investments they may have made in new machinery or freeze wages or possibly let staff go or, the vast majority are passing those costs on to the consumer which is indirectly fuelling inflation.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1350021/Petrol-rationing-proposed-MPs-prices-set-hit-8-gallon-summer.html#ixzz1BxicQHsc

 

Petrol Prices To Hit £70 A Tank By Easter

Motorists' pockets will be hit even harder this year as petrol retailers predict the average cost of filling up a tank could soar to £70.

Planned government tax rises could see a litre of unleaded rocket to £1.36, while diesel could go up to £1.40.

Representatives from major motoring organisations are urging Chancellor George Osborne to scrap plans for a 5p rise in fuel duty in his April budget.

Already hard-hit families could face a total rise of 8p per litre at the pumps as oil prices also continue to increase.

Brian Madderson, chairman of the Retail Motor Industry Federation's petrol division (RMI), has written an open letter to Mr Osborne calling for him to "halt the relentless rise in fuel prices".

Mr Madderson said: "Our unequivocal recommendation is that the Government now abandon the fuel duty`escalator' principle as this is a legacy of your predecessors.

"We are mindful that the plan to increase duty yet again by 1p a litre in 'real terms' from April 1 will add a further 4-5p a litre to the retail price at the pumps for all grades of fuel."

Mr Madderson's plea is echoed by commuters and small businesses who are demanding action from ministers.

Campaigners say people will be unable to travel to work and businesses will suffer financially following the fuel hikes.

Elspeth Connolly, of Internet Unlimited LLC, told Sky News Online: "Some staff have been unable to come into work by car.

"People are really considering where they drive."

Motorists in West London say their day-to-day lives have been affected.

Merle Goll, 35, a designer from Twickenham, said: "It keeps you from making the short journey and this is something that we have had to cut down on.

"They're incredibly high, ten years ago I remember prices of petrol being around 68p a litre."

Kuluindesr Singh, 40, from Southall, told Sky News Online: "This time of the year prices have gone very high. Before, the money I was paying for a full tank now only equates to half a tank of fuel."

The Government is now facing calls to introduce their fair fuel price stabiliser policy, which would see fuel duty fall when oil prices rise, and then go back up when they moderate.

The policy was shelved after the coalition was formed.

John Walker, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "In opposition, the Conservative Party promised to put a fuel duty stabiliser in place - something the FSB has been calling for. But they have failed to deliver.

"As such, they are placing strain on already hard-hit businesses cash-flow. It is imperative the Government acts now and introduces the stabiliser to avoid a relentless flow of fuel duty increases that simply put small firms on a knife edge."

Some activists have called for a repeat of the crippling fuel strikes of 2000, when farmers and lorry drivers staged go-slow protests and refinery blockades that bled dry more than 90% of UK petrol stations - all because prices had gone above 80p a litre.

David Handley, chairman of Farmers For Action (FFA), who was part of the protest said: "I can see a fuel protest happening again very imminently and if it does, we will support them without a doubt.

"It is an unfair situation on the general public and they will be making a poor return on the money they pay for fuel."

Reports had suggested that Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey would back a strike, but a spokesperson for the union dismissed them as "rubbish".

Most fuel supplies are distributed by haulage contractors, who not only tender for the work, but also negotiate separate wage and condition deals with their drivers.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) says the increase in petrol pump rises are "financially crippling" the way the association delivers its policies and looks after its members.

But it ruled out organising a strike, pointing out that new legislation allowed drivers' operators licences to be confiscated for taking part.

An HM Treasury spokesperson said: "In order to address the country's record budget deficit, it is necessary to implement the fuel duty increases already set and legislated for.

"Tough decisions are unavoidable and the Government has been clear that the burden of deficit reduction will have to be shared."

Tank of fuel rises a record £3 in a month: Petrol now more than 128p a litre

Motorists suffered the biggest-ever leap in the price of petrol this month, with the cost of filling up rising by £3.07 in just 30 days.

Between mid-December and mid-January, average petrol prices rose by 6.13p a litre to a record 128.27, while diesel prices went up 6.56p a litre – from 126.19 to 132.75.

The previous highest monthly petrol price increase was 5.6p a litre in June 2008.

The Automobile Association said the monthly fuel bill for an average two-car family had rocketed by £34 in just a year.

The AA said: ‘A 0.76p a litre increase in fuel duty on January 1 and VAT rising to 20 per cent, adding around 2.5p more to the pump price, accounted for the lion’s share of the latest increase.

‘Every day has been a record for petrol prices since December 10.’

Compared to a year ago, petrol costs 16.3p a litre more and diesel 18.98p more. Filling a 50-litre tank has risen by £8.15 for petrol and £9.49 for diesel.

At present, the cheapest petrol is to be found in Yorkshire and Humberside (averaging 127.3p a litre), while the dearest is in Northern Ireland (129.1p).

Yorkshire and Humberside also has the cheapest diesel (at an average of 131.9p a litre) while the most expensive can be found in Wales and Northern Ireland (both 133.5p a litre)

Asda is the supermarket offering the cheapest petrol (125.36p a litre), followed by Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

AA president Edmund King said: ‘The huge fall in petrol sales shows that many drivers cannot afford to fill up. Sooner or later, politicians will have to face reality – more and more drivers cannot afford these prices.’

 

Tank of fuel rises a record £3 in a month: Petrol now more than 128p a litre

Motorists suffered the biggest-ever leap in the price of petrol this month, with the cost of filling up rising by £3.07 in just 30 days.

Between mid-December and mid-January, average petrol prices rose by 6.13p a litre to a record 128.27, while diesel prices went up 6.56p a litre – from 126.19 to 132.75.

The previous highest monthly petrol price increase was 5.6p a litre in June 2008.

The Automobile Association said the monthly fuel bill for an average two-car family had rocketed by £34 in just a year.

The AA said: ‘A 0.76p a litre increase in fuel duty on January 1 and VAT rising to 20 per cent, adding around 2.5p more to the pump price, accounted for the lion’s share of the latest increase.

‘Every day has been a record for petrol prices since December 10.’

Compared to a year ago, petrol costs 16.3p a litre more and diesel 18.98p more. Filling a 50-litre tank has risen by £8.15 for petrol and £9.49 for diesel.

At present, the cheapest petrol is to be found in Yorkshire and Humberside (averaging 127.3p a litre), while the dearest is in Northern Ireland (129.1p).

Yorkshire and Humberside also has the cheapest diesel (at an average of 131.9p a litre) while the most expensive can be found in Wales and Northern Ireland (both 133.5p a litre)

Asda is the supermarket offering the cheapest petrol (125.36p a litre), followed by Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

AA president Edmund King said: ‘The huge fall in petrol sales shows that many drivers cannot afford to fill up. Sooner or later, politicians will have to face reality – more and more drivers cannot afford these prices.’

 

The Government should act now on petrol and rail fares

 

It's high time the Coalition Government took a serious look outside of Westminster - and now might be a good time to start with petrol prices and rail fares.

The chart below shows the current average £1.28 cost of petrol and where that money goes.

Frankly, it is a shocker. Your pain at the pump sets the tills ringing at the Treasury: where they cash in to the tune of 80.3p every time someone buys one of those astonishingly expensive £1.28 litres of fuel.

(The argument of this is often that petrol is taxed so highly for green reasons. Except to me that doesn't stand up when my shoddy local rail company, First Capital Connect, is allowed to charge £11.90 for a 25 minute off peak journey, as just one example of the great rail rip-off.)

This massive tax grab isn't news. Governments have been hitting motorists and also everyone else, due to the failure to shift freight from road to rail, with this pain for years.

But the issue is back thanks to the rising price of oil - pushed up by speculators you'll be pleased to know.

And so the Government is back to considering its fair fuel stabiliser and not adding yet more duty onto petrol as planned. But rather than simply actually deciding to play fair, it is dithering.

Obviously these things matter less if you are an MP.

After all, if the expenses scandal revealed anything it was that MPs simply do not have to pay for the things you and I do. Chauffeur driven cars, claiming back taxis and rail fares, a taxpayer-covered pad near work, these all help keep an MP's household bills down.

But if I was in the Government I'd be wary. Both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems campaigned with a suggestion of no more ripping off the hard working population and indicated each would bring a return to a fair value Britain. Cuts, it was suggested, would be hard but fair.

Now they are in power, the cuts are translating through to more of what we've suffered for years: higher rail fares, higher petrol prices, higher parking charges and public sector monoliths laying off the low paid while protecting fat cat managers.

It might be time for our PR savvy Government to take a good look at what's going on, because the comment I hear all the time on how they are doing from the man and woman in the street is that this lot are starting to look just like the last lot.

 

- Simon Lambert, assistant editor, This is Money

£192 to fill the tank: Astonishing fuel bill of Bugatti Veyron driver who visited Britain\'s most expensive petrol station

Filling the car with a tank of fuel has proved increasingly painful for motorists as VAT, duty and oil value increases have sent forecourt prices through the roof.

But one driver demonstrated that he had no such worries by filling up the world's most petrol-thirsty car at Britain's most expensive petrol station.

The driver took his Bugatti Veyron – which is sold for more than £1m – to the Texaco garage in Chelsea, West London, where petrol is offered at 159.9p a litre.

He clocked up a bill of £192 before driving off in the supercar, which can consume a litre every two miles.

The astonishing scene came as families were warned there was little prospect of a lifeline on fuel prices – despite repeated pledges from David Cameron.

The Prime Minister has reiterated his desire to introduce a fuel stabiliser to help motorists but that brings him into a public conflict with the Treasury, which does not want to enact the pledge.

Mr Cameron said today: 'I do want to see some method of sharing the pain between the taxpayer and the motorist.'

He added that the idea was being examined ahead of the Budget in March, although he also admitted there were difficulties in ensuring the Government protected its revenues overall.

'The point is there are other consequences of a higher oil price and we have to get those right,' he said.

Downing Street later moved to clarify that any announcement on a fuel stabiliser package would be made in the Budget.

Mr Cameron's spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister has asked the Treasury to look at the issue.

'They are actively doing that and any announcement will be made at the time of the Budget.'

And he poured cold water on suggestions that ministers were drawing up comprehensive measures to help drivers cope with record pump prices.

He did reveal, however, that the Treasury was pushing ahead with a pilot scheme to offer discounted fuel to rural communities in the Scottish Highlands, which could extend to his own constituency of Inverness.

Mr Alexander appeared to rule out delaying the planned duty rise in April, which together with rising oil prices and inflation could put as much as 8p on a litre of fuel.

This could add a further £210 a year on the petrol bill of a family with two cars.

Mr Alexander suggested the plan championed by David Cameron for a ‘fair fuel stabiliser’ was beset with difficulties.

He said Treasury officials would give the proposal ‘due consideration’, but warned: ‘It’s a complicated idea and it’s difficult to see precisely how we achieve it.’

Currently, the average cost of unleaded petrol is around £1.28 a litre, of which 58.95p is fuel tax and a further 21.35p is VAT.

The fair fuel ­stabiliser would mean that if the price of oil rises, then the duty levied by the Government would fall to reduce the pain for motorists.

But last night Mr Alexander said the need for the Treasury to protect its revenues was more important than helping out drivers.

The Liberal Democrat minister said: ‘The biggest economic problem facing every household is the deficit. If we come off that deficit reduction plan, the risk to the country would be truly huge, so that has to be the first priority.’

His comments came as Energy Secretary Chris Huhne acknowledged that rising fuel prices could ‘potentially have devastating effects on employment’ – but said fuel duty should be kept high in the long term for environmental reasons.

Experts forecast that the Treasury will rake in a £2billion windfall this year as a result of soaring oil prices.

But Treasury officials claim this ignores the depression to the wider economy, and so tax revenues, caused by higher oil prices.

Mr Alexander said the Office for Budget Responsibility found that when oil prices rise ‘revenue is lost in other areas’.

In recent days the Prime Minister has relaunched the idea of the fuel stabiliser – a key pre-election Conservative pledge.

On Friday Mr Cameron said he believed the Treasury did receive ‘extra revenue’ when oil prices rise, adding: ‘When that happens we should share some of that benefit with the hard-pressed motorist.’

Downing Street has said that Mr Cameron recognises the difficulties with the scheme but is determined to give motorists a ‘fair deal’.

But Labour’s transport spokesman Maria Eagle said the Government was in ‘chaos and confusion’ over the issue.

Mr Alexander’s rural communities project would see fuel duty cut by 5p a litre in parts of the Highlands where, he said, residents have no choice but to travel by car.

 

 

 

 

 

£70 to fill up with petrol: Families hit by yet another stealth tax and soaring oil prices

Eye-watering: There will be no let up at the pumps as unleaded is set to hit £1.36 by Easter - and diesel will be £1.40

Soaring fuel prices will push the cost of filling up the average family saloon to £70 by Easter, retailers warned last night.

The record high will come in from April 1 as petrol and diesel prices shoot up by 8p a litre thanks to yet another ‘stealth tax’ and rising oil prices.

This will push the cost of unleaded petrol up to £1.36 a litre (£6.18 a gallon) and diesel up to £1.40 a litre (£6.36 a gallon).

It means the cost of filling a saloon with a 50-litre tank will soar to about £70. Only 12 months ago, when petrol was £1.10 a litre, it would have been £56, marking a rise of 25 per cent.

The gloomy forecast for drivers came as Brent crude oil rose to $98 a barrel on London markets yesterday for the first time in 27 months. Experts said breaking the $100 a barrel threshold is ‘imminent’ amid growing global demand.

Petrol retailers have written to George Osborne urging the Chancellor to abandon the next automatic ‘escalator’ rise in fuel duty in his Budget, which will see up to 5p a litre added to the cost of fuel.

Combined with predicted oil price increases, motorists and hauliers face a total rise of 8p.

AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘Motorists are punch-drunk with these relentless price rises. They are driven by greedy speculators playing the markets and pushing up the price of oil, and therefore petrol and diesel. The pips are squeaking.’

During Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday David Cameron came under renewed pressure to help cash-strapped motorists by introducing a ‘fuel-stabiliser’ – where duty falls to ­compensate for oil price rises, keeping petrol prices on a more even keel.

After days of apparent dithering on the issue, Mr Cameron was asked by Tory MP Anne McIntosh at PMQs if he would revisit the fuel-stabiliser idea.

Petrol SOS: Retailers have written to Chancellor George Osborne urging him to scrap a proposed 5p duty rise

Mr Cameron said: ‘Yes, the Treasury are looking at this because clearly there is a case for saying that as the oil price rises, if it can be shown the Treasury benefits from extra revenue, there should be a way of sharing that with the motorist who is ­suffering from high prices.’

Under the stabiliser mechanism, fuel duty would be cut when oil prices rise, and increased when they fell.

The rule of thumb adopted by the oil and petroleum industry is that every $2 rise in the oil price results in a 1p rise in the pump price. So if oil rises by $10, a fuel-stabiliser would mean the Government should cut 5p off the fixed-rate duty it levies at the pumps, which is currently 58.95p a litre.

The Conservatives pledged to consider a ‘fair fuel-stabiliser’ before last year’s ­election. However the plan was kicked into the long grass until rising ­petrol prices, including a 1p-a-litre hike in duty and the VAT rise to 20 per cent, led Mr Cameron to revisit the topic last week.

Days later, however, he appeared to backtrack, telling the BBC: ‘I don’t want to raise people’s hopes too far because it is a difficult issue.’

After a series of almost daily increases, unleaded is currently at a record high of £1.28 a litre (£5.82 a gallon). Meanwhile diesel, at £1.32 a litre (over £6 a gallon), is now ‘perilously close’ to the previous record of £1.33 set in July 2008 and will soon surpass it, say retailers.

Brian Madderson, of the retail motor industry group RMI Petrol, which represents 6,500 independent filling stations, has written to George Osborne asking him to scrap the ‘escalator’ rise on fuel duty, introduced by Labour, which would see it go up by 1p plus the rate of inflation.
Esculator: An extra 5p per litre will go on petrol in fuel duty - taking the cost of filling a Mondeo to £70

Esculator: An extra 5p per litre will go on petrol in fuel duty - taking the cost of filling a Mondeo to £70

In his letter to the Chancellor, Mr Madderson writes: ‘Our pessimistic outlook is that retail prices are likely to rise by as much as 8p-a-litre by Easter.

‘This would put unleaded petrol at an average of 136p per litre and diesel at an unthinkable 140p per litre. The effect on industry and inflation is self-evident.’

Warning of ‘much more pain in the pipeline’, he said yesterday: ‘It’s time the Chancellor stepped off the fuel tax escalator. The thing about escalators is that when you reach the top, you do get off.’

The Federation of Small Businesses warned that its members were being ‘hard-hit’ ‘at the most fragile of times’ as they struggle in the economic downturn.

And Kate Gibbs, of the Road Haulage ­Association, called the rise ‘little more than another kick in the teeth’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1346638/George-Osbornes-fuel-hike-hits-families--70-petrol.html#ixzz1Atfpka84dsx

Petrol price hike to fuel demand for economy cars

For the next few weeks you could pick up a 50-plus mpg used fuel-sipper at auction for bargain money, before big demand kicks in.

The recent fuel price hike hasn’t galvanised values yet, but the tidal wave is approaching.

Over the last weeks at British Car Auctions ultra-thrifty cars attract no price ­premium whatsoever.

How about a 56-plate Toyota Prius hybrid (that’ll do 56mpg) for £5,350? Or a 57-plate Polo BlueMotion (good for 70mpg) for just £5,800?

A 70mpg 57-plate Mini Cooper D, knocked down in December for £7,700, doesn’t sound expensive.

Demand for cars like these will explode, as we shake off our post-Christmas torpor and realise that petrol and diesel are nearly six quid a gallon.

£1,900 would have bought a 55-plate Ford Ka (nearly 50mpg) with just 21,000 miles, while an 06-plate Corsa CDTi SXi (more than 60mpg) with 66k miles went for £2,800.

Dealers have been steering clear of economy cars because the margins are slender, but they’ll soon be stuffing ­forecourts and showrooms with as many as they can get.

Put your money into misers like these and it’ll be safe for at least the next 12 months, as ­depreciation levels off, buoyed by buyers ­desperate to save fuel.

Check out the auction prices below… and remember, in 2011 small really is going to be ­beautiful.

03 Ford StreetKa Luxury 79,000 £1,850

05 Kia Picanto GS 25,000 £2,075

06 Renault Clio Campus 25,000 £2,500

07 Toyota Auris VVTi T2 16,000 £5,600

08 Ford Fiesta TDCi Econetic 30,000 £7,400

08 VW Golf BlueMotion 30,000 £7,975

07 Peugeot 207 1.4HDi 28,000 £3,950
 

Play fair on petrol prices: Cameron urged to honour pledge as anger grows over fuel duty

David Cameron came under mounting pressure yesterday to honour his commitment to curb soaring fuel prices.

As petrol approaches £1.30 a litre following a double increase last week, and amid growing signs of a revolt, the Prime Minister backtracked from the introduction of a ‘fair fuel price stabiliser’ to ease the pain at the pumps.

He said he didn’t want to ‘raise people’s hopes’ on a ‘difficult issue’.

The scheme would see fuel duty fall when oil prices rise, and go back up when the oil price moderates.

It is backed by a senior Tory backbencher, small business leaders and hauliers. But Treasury officials are said to harbour doubts about the practicality of the scheme.

With petrol prices soaring, there are fears there could be a re-run of the protests that crippled the country in 2000.

Mr Cameron announced the fair fuel price stabiliser weeks before the General Election last year, when petrol prices stood at a then record of £1.20 a litre. At the time he said he recognised that many people had no choice but to use their car.

Fuel hardy: Mr Cameron said the cost of filling up a car was 'incredibly painful for families up and down the country'

The policy was shelved after the forming of the Coalition, but last week Mr Cameron revealed that the Treasury had been asked to look at the proposal as a possible idea for the Budget.

At a public question and answer session in Leicester, he said: ‘We’re looking at that. It’s not an easy thing to put in place, but I would like to try and find some way of sharing the risk of higher fuel prices with the consumer.

‘At the moment I think they feel they are bearing all of the burden.’

Yesterday he appeared to flip-flop on the issue, playing down the chances of relief for long-suffering motorists.

Mr Cameron said the cost of filling up a car was ‘incredibly painful for families up and down the country and I understand that’. But he told the BBC: ‘I don’t want to raise people’s hopes too far because it is a difficult issue.’

Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood called on the Prime Minister to introduce the policy immediately, coupled with a duty cut to ease the pressure on struggling families and businesses.

Mr Redwood, a former adviser to Mr Cameron, said tax now made up almost two-thirds of the price of a litre of fuel.

Motorists suffered a double whammy last week with both fuel duty and VAT going up, adding 3.5p to the cost of a litre. Mr Redwood said: ‘It is time for the Government to dust down its idea of a fuel price stabiliser operated through variable taxes on fuel, starting now with a reduction.’
HEATING OIL PROFITEERS

The country’s largest home heating oil supplier has been accused of profiteering during the record cold spell.

DCC Energy is alleged to have increased the price of oil by up to 60 per cent while the commodity price of kerosene went up by less than 10 per cent since November.

The Dublin-based firm is said to have manipulated a supposedly independent price comparison site, which it owns, forcing heating customers to pay over the odds.

BoilerJuice.com, claims to find the cheapest price in any area. But prices listed yesterday were up to 60 per cent higher than rates charged by genuine independents.

It yesterday listed the best price in West Cornwall for an urgent 500-litre delivery at £493.50 from an unnamed firm. But independent Consols Oils was charging £316.58.

The Office of Fair Trading is monitoring the firm’s pricing structure after complaints.DCC Energy said at the weekend: ‘The recent very severe weather conditions have led to unprecedented demand and shortages of product

The Federation of Small Businesses also urged the Prime Minister to honour his pledge, with chairman John Walker warning that businesses were ‘severely disappointed’ by the lack of action.

Mr Cameron’s remarks came as a campaign to put an end to ‘spiralling fuel prices’ was launched, with activists warning of mass protests on the roads similar to those that crippled the country in 2000.

Road haulier Peter Carroll, 50, the founder of Fair Fuel UK, is calling on lorry drivers, road freight trade associations, truck manufacturers and the public to get behind his initiative.

Mr Carroll, who was behind the Gurkha Campaign in 2009, is particularly fighting for cheaper fuel for freight companies and other ‘essential users’.

He said: ‘Spiralling fuel prices, pushed up even higher by fuel duty rises, are crushing the UK road freight industry. This is hurting the entire economy. It is stoking inflation which affects everyone.’

In addition, Mr Carroll, who lives in Folkestone, Kent, has asked for the support of groups such as the Confederation of British Industry and chambers of commerce.

It also emerged that thousands of militant tanker drivers are plotting a national strike which could bring the country to a standstill.

The strike, co-ordinated by the giant Unite union which bankrolls Labour, could begin as early as next month.

The Treasury has said the stabiliser plan is back on the table. It said it was considering an assessment of the idea by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, published last year. But the OBR concluded that a fair fuel stabiliser may cost too much.

In a separate warning, the Prime Minister said the Bank of England was now facing an ‘extremely difficult task’ in deciding whether to increase interest rates from their historic low of 0.5 per cent to tackle rising inflation.

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that recent figures showing rising inflation were ‘concerning because they’re well outside what the Bank of England is meant to deliver’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1345624/Play-fair-petrol-prices-Cameron-urged-honour-pledge-anger-grows-fuel-duty.html#ixzz1AbrLO3vy

Small firms demand PM introduces a fuel duty stabiliser

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the prime minister to fulfil a Conservative manifesto pledge to limit fuel duty increases.

Petrol prices are now at a record high after recent rises in VAT and duty.

The FSB wants David Cameron to introduce a fuel duty stabiliser which would cut duty when oil prices rise, and increase it when prices fall.

He backed the idea in opposition and said this week that he was considering ways to help cash-strapped motorists.

The FSB says the UK now has the second highest diesel price in Europe - something which it says is causing great difficulties for hauliers and other businesses dependent on road transport.

The organisation also points out that on the continent, the total price is split about 50/50 between the cost of the fuel itself and tax.

But in the UK, the average product price is 38% of the total, with the remaining 62% coming from tax.
'Knife-edge'

John Walker, national chairman of the FSB, said they were "severely disappointed" with Mr Cameron.

"In opposition, the Conservative Party promised to put a fuel duty stabiliser in place - something the FSB has been calling for - but they have failed to deliver," he said.

"As such, they are placing strain on already hard-hit businesses's cash-flow. It is imperative the government acts now and introduces the stabiliser to avoid a relentless flow of fuel duty increases that simply put small firms on a knife-edge."

The prime minister said last week that the VAT and duty hikes were "very painful and difficult" for motorists, adding that he was working with the Treasury on the idea of a stabiliser.

"We are looking at it. It's not simple, it's not an easy thing to put in place but I would like to try and find some way of, as I say, sharing the risk of higher fuel prices with the consumer," the PM said.

"At the moment I think they feel they are bearing all of the burden so we are looking at this because we do want to try and help people."

As fuel prices rocket, Cameron holds out hope for a revival of the fuel stabiliser

Report by Mail on Line

David Cameron yesterday promised to look at ways of keeping petrol price rises to a minimum.

He said the Government might revive the idea of the ‘fair fuel stabiliser’, whereby fuel tax would be cut when world oil prices soared.

And the Premier insisted he understood how ‘painful and difficult’ the rises in VAT and fuel duty had been for drivers.
David Cameron at the Caterpillar company in Desford, Leicestershire, today when he revived the possibility of a fuel stabiliser

David Cameron at the Caterpillar company in Desford, Leicestershire, today when he revived the possibility of a fuel stabiliser

A plan to introduce the stabiliser, to protect motorists from huge volatility in petrol prices, was floated by Mr Cameron before the election.

But it was quietly dropped just before June’s Budget on the grounds it would be unaffordable.

Instead the Coalition went ahead with fuel duty hikes unveiled by Labour before they lost office, and put up VAT. At a public question and answer session in Leicester, Mr Cameron said: ‘We’re looking at that.
Mr Cameron is working with the Treasury to to try to find some way of sharing the risk of higher fuel prices with the consumer

Mr Cameron is working with the Treasury to to try to find some way of sharing the risk of higher fuel prices with the consumer

‘It’s not simple, it’s not an easy thing to put in place but I would like to try and find some way of sharing the risk of higher fuel prices with the consumer.

‘At the moment I think they feel they are bearing all of the burden so we are looking at this because we do want to try and help people.’ He added: ‘I accept people are paying a very high price for filling up their car or their van – it affects all businesses, it affects all of us.

‘We’ve also got to do something bigger: Which is to wean ourselves off hydrocarbons and petrol.’

Last night the Treasury confirmed the stabiliser plan was back on the table – saying they were considering an assessment of the idea by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, published last year.

But the OBR concluded a ‘fair fuel stabiliser’ may not be affordable, as it would cost too much to subsidise lower prices at the pump.

An aide to Chancellor George Osborne said: ‘The Government is considering the OBR’s assessment of a fair fuel stabiliser and will report back to Parliament in due course.’

In a separate move, Mr Cameron yesterday backed his Housing Minister Grant Shapps, by saying he wanted an end to the ‘housing boom’.

Mr Shapps had said massive property price increases, as seen before the recession, were bad for the economy.

Mr Cameron said: ‘We don’t want a housing boom where prices rise out of people’s reach.’