RE: E-Petition Sparks 'Fair Fuel' Debate
Wednesday 12th October 2011
Anyone remember the good old days..?The Fair Fuel UK Campaign - a group lead by the Freight Transport Association - has succeeded in its efforts to force a formal debate on fuel duty in the House of Commons.
E-Petition Sparks 'Fair Fuel' Debate
MPs schedule parliamentary time as signatures reach 100k
Anyone remember the good old days..?
Fair Fuel UK's e-Petition, which was backed by Robert Halfon MP, reached 100,000 signatures last Friday, and yesterday the parliamentary Back Bench Business Committee granted the FFUK a 'main chamber' debate on the strength of public opinion.
"Our e-Petition shows the depth of feeling and support for an overhaul of government fuel duty policy. It's not just motorists feeling the pain at the pumps; businesses are being forced to make redundancies or face insolvency in the face of higher transport costs," says Theo de Pencier, the FTA's chief exec.
"This issue goes beyond party politics; it's about keeping the UK on the road to recovery. The price we pay for fuel has a huge impact on business competitiveness, with diesel accounting for 40 per cent of the costs of operating a lorry."
Will anything significant come of it? We can't help feeling a little bit cynical...
Discussion
over_the_hill said:
Government revenue from fuel duty is already falling due to less people driving/buying fuel due to the high cost.
There will be a debate, lots of talk about environmental issues, free market and other buzzwords.
Then nothing will happen.
Exactly. There will be a debate, lots of talk about environmental issues, free market and other buzzwords.
Then nothing will happen.
What we should have is a legal limit on fuel prices of say £1.00 per litre. If the oil price goes up then the tax applied will have to go down to allow for that. That way we stay competitive.
I'd like to see some price parity in the UK regarding fuel. There's six pence per litre difference in the price of petrol between Newbury and Swindon at the moment! (comparing Shell garages)
The towns are less than 30 miles apart. I appreciate haulage costs to get fuel around the UK vary, but they take the piss.
The towns are less than 30 miles apart. I appreciate haulage costs to get fuel around the UK vary, but they take the piss.
Simbu said:
I'd like to see some price parity in the UK regarding fuel. There's six pence per litre difference in the price of petrol between Newbury and Swindon at the moment! (comparing Shell garages)
The towns are less than 30 miles apart. I appreciate haulage costs to get fuel around the UK vary, but they take the piss.
You get that variation in price within a 1 mile radius in the area where i live.The towns are less than 30 miles apart. I appreciate haulage costs to get fuel around the UK vary, but they take the piss.
The fuel companies and the goverment are both to blame for this! The fuel companies are not dropping the price when the cost of oil goes down but nothing will be done about that!! The goverment are to blame as the amount of tax put on the cost of fuel! But until this country has to stop providing for low life and women popping children out left right and centre then they will have to continue taxing hard working people to the eye balls! So basically there will be a lot of talking but f*** all will be done. Rant over.
The government is never going to go for this.
They will use the argument of saying that this is due to the fact that the government can't afford it at the moment.
The other issue is that there really isn't enough legislation to force fuel suppliers to reduce prices as quickly as they araise them according to the wholesale price.
Or, and this is more controversial, to stop specualtion on fuel by non oil companies. I don't see why a fund manager or investment bank should be able to take a bet on an essential resource.
If grain was runnng out we would be quick to make sure that speculation was banned, why not with Oil?
They will use the argument of saying that this is due to the fact that the government can't afford it at the moment.
The other issue is that there really isn't enough legislation to force fuel suppliers to reduce prices as quickly as they araise them according to the wholesale price.
Or, and this is more controversial, to stop specualtion on fuel by non oil companies. I don't see why a fund manager or investment bank should be able to take a bet on an essential resource.
If grain was runnng out we would be quick to make sure that speculation was banned, why not with Oil?
Keeping fuel high keeps the price of all goods higher therefore increasing revenue in other areas and increasing inflation.
I would assume a lot more fuel would have to be purchased to account for this and there would be a transition period plus its not "green" .
As inflation increases the countries debt will be eroded, as debt only increases by interest not by inflation assuming interest rates stay low and inflation controllably high (circa 3%-5%) then the debt may remain similar but will end up as a smaller percentage of GDP. Similar to how your savings are worth less if you leave them in a bank with low interest rates/or if you owed £1000 in the 70's it would be a lot more compared to now.
Obviously this doesn't help the well being of everyone as savings are worth less, goods cost more,etc but i don't think it is possible to save our way out of the mess and it will take a few years to turn around. My guess is they will eliminate the deficit before the next election then announce tax cuts if they achieve that goal.
Fuel is a part of this process and when running a tight ship every bit counts although i do think the current price is ridiculous as for some it enables mobility and helps people to work £1-£1.10 a litre would be better. ALthough our tax is and always has been high when you rely on an income to provide other services it is never going to be eay to move away from that.
ETA: I would not advise starting a thread on fuel prices on pistonheads.
I would assume a lot more fuel would have to be purchased to account for this and there would be a transition period plus its not "green" .
As inflation increases the countries debt will be eroded, as debt only increases by interest not by inflation assuming interest rates stay low and inflation controllably high (circa 3%-5%) then the debt may remain similar but will end up as a smaller percentage of GDP. Similar to how your savings are worth less if you leave them in a bank with low interest rates/or if you owed £1000 in the 70's it would be a lot more compared to now.
Obviously this doesn't help the well being of everyone as savings are worth less, goods cost more,etc but i don't think it is possible to save our way out of the mess and it will take a few years to turn around. My guess is they will eliminate the deficit before the next election then announce tax cuts if they achieve that goal.
Fuel is a part of this process and when running a tight ship every bit counts although i do think the current price is ridiculous as for some it enables mobility and helps people to work £1-£1.10 a litre would be better. ALthough our tax is and always has been high when you rely on an income to provide other services it is never going to be eay to move away from that.
ETA: I would not advise starting a thread on fuel prices on pistonheads.
Edited by Froomee on Wednesday 12th October 11:56
Petrol has always been an easy cash-cow for the government so its unlikely that a petition is going to force drastic change.
Would be good to see more regulation put around pump price reflecting barrel price though. Also if there was a fixed value tax (which followed inflation) per litre rather than a % that would surely cut cost as well when prices fluctuate...?
Easy solution: CLARKSON FOR PRIME MINISTER :P
Would be good to see more regulation put around pump price reflecting barrel price though. Also if there was a fixed value tax (which followed inflation) per litre rather than a % that would surely cut cost as well when prices fluctuate...?
Easy solution: CLARKSON FOR PRIME MINISTER :P
Sadly, I suspect the cynicism is going to prove well founded.
They can call poverty, "We need the tax!" to appeal to your traditional debt conscious right wingers.
They can call environmentalism, "Burning oil damages the environment!" to appeal to green leaning liberals.
Between the two groups there's enough political power to oppose any movement to change the current fuel duty policies, and as if that wasn't enough, there'll be strong lobbying from the oil business to keep tax high. The stratospheric tax rates help them hide their current profiteering. If the tax were to drop but fuel prices stayed above £1 a liter, we'd all know who to blame.
They can call poverty, "We need the tax!" to appeal to your traditional debt conscious right wingers.
They can call environmentalism, "Burning oil damages the environment!" to appeal to green leaning liberals.
Between the two groups there's enough political power to oppose any movement to change the current fuel duty policies, and as if that wasn't enough, there'll be strong lobbying from the oil business to keep tax high. The stratospheric tax rates help them hide their current profiteering. If the tax were to drop but fuel prices stayed above £1 a liter, we'd all know who to blame.
A Scotsman said:
Exactly.
What we should have is a legal limit on fuel prices of say £1.00 per litre. If the oil price goes up then the tax applied will have to go down to allow for that. That way we stay competitive.
And we will end up paying it in other taxes.What we should have is a legal limit on fuel prices of say £1.00 per litre. If the oil price goes up then the tax applied will have to go down to allow for that. That way we stay competitive.
'Fair' is a subjective thing when it comes to tax.
When the credit crunch started I always thought that the best thing to do would have been to cut fuel duty by a fair chunk and then slowly return it - hell of a lot easier and cheaper to instigate than messing around with VAT.
Fuel price impacts everything - the only reason we have inflation now is mainly down to fuel costs and nothing to do with people spending money.
Fuel price impacts everything - the only reason we have inflation now is mainly down to fuel costs and nothing to do with people spending money.
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