Yesterday I wrote an article for "The House" magazine, about petrol prices, and why international oil firms must take responsibility.
You can read my article below.
First of all, the government has stepped up
to the plate on petrol prices: stopping the 3p August rise, scrapping the
January rise, and cutting fuel duty by -1p in 2011. Taken as a whole, this is a
radical tax-cutting agenda, targeted in a way to help the poor. It shows that
this Government is on the side of strivers – supporting
aspiration, and hard work – especially as it comes against the backdrop
of an economic crisis.
Ministers have done not so much a U-turn
as an L-turn. They have listened to the Parliamentary campaign, to petitions
such as the one at www.PetrolPromise.com, to the views of
many colleagues, and particularly to what is perhaps the most effective
campaigning pressure group in the country, FairFuelUK.
The question is:
What next? The government has taken responsibility, but major oil firms have
conspicuously failed to do so. Petrol prices are high – not just because of tax,
but because of the UK oil market as well. Look at the facts. Fuel is still at
around £1.30 a litre. The UK has the tenth highest petrol price in Europe and
the second highest diesel price.
There is also disturbing evidence of
uncompetitiveness in the oil market. Pump prices are quick to rise, but it feels
like you need a court order to get them down. From May to August last year, oil
prices fell by 5.5% (adjusting for exchange rates). But petrol and diesel stayed
stubbornly high, falling by just 1.5 per cent.
There is also the thorny
problem of local variation in petrol prices – especially in rural areas, but
also in towns like Harlow. Harlow residents often write to me, saying that fuel
is 5p cheaper in nearby towns like Epping, Hoddesdon, Welwyn, and Stevenage.
There is simply no explanation for it, other than a lack of
competitiveness.
So what are the Office of Fair Trading doing about this?
Disappointingly, the OFT have indicated that they will not investigate the UK
oil market, despite not having done so since 1998, and despite a dossier of
evidence from Brian Madderson and the Retail Motor Industry association showing
that British motorists are being fleeced.
That is why, together with 65 MPs of all parties, I
am asking the Backbench Business Committee for a debate, with a vote insisting
that the OFT investigate. A vote in the House is crucial, as the OFT is
independent, and cannot be instructed by Ministers.
Britain is lagging
behind the curve on this. Many other G20 countries are taking regulatory action.
Germany is introducing fuel price regulation– to limit price-rises, and to stop
excessive variation from one town to the next. Austria implemented theirs last
year. America is bringing in tough penalties for oil traders, if they are
convicted of “market-manipulation”. These are all things Britain could do as
well. If other forward-looking G20 nations are clamping down on uncompetitive
behaviour, so should we.
p.s. Please also sign my petition for cheaper petrol and diesel at PetrolPromise.com -
Today, this petition has been backed by over 60+ MPs, and featured widely in The Times, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, The Sun, and also in ConservativeHome.
Can't see how the government action on fuel helps the poorest in our society. Few of them can afford cars and I suspect that those benefitting most will be those with the most guzzling cars so much for a green government. The savings which were found by the government could have been used to really help the poorest.
ReplyDeleteI do applaud however your comments on the responsibility of the oil companies - it is a great pity that this part of your message was lost in the government action. No surprise though! Keep campaigning for this.