Protest At Petrol Prices And Fuel Duty Braves The Rain At Westminster

Fuel Duty Protest Parliament

PA/The Huffington Post UK   First Posted: 7/03/2012 15:27 Updated: 7/03/2012 15:27

Hundreds of protesters braved heavy rain on Wednesday lunchtime to take their campaign for fuel duty cuts to Westminster.

Pensioners, cabbies, van drivers and hauliers were among those taking to the streets to lobby Parliament ahead of this month's Budget.

Organised by the FairFuelUK group, the protest included the delivery of a key report to 10 Downing Street.

From the the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the report said even a modest cut in fuel duty of 2.5p per litre would create 180,000 new jobs.

FairFuelUK founder Peter Carroll said: "It may have been wet today but we have been heartened by the fact that hundreds have joined our protest.

"We are hopeful that Chancellor George Osborne will see sense and cut fuel duty in his Budget."

Click here for full coverage of the 2012 Budget

Geoff Dunning, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said: "The findings of this report prove, without shadow of a doubt, that there is an achievable solution to regaining at least some stability as regards fuel prices."

The protest today came after latest figures showed new record highs for petrol and diesel at the pumps, with petrol having reached 137.79p a litre and diesel 144.92p.

Another report last week showed that UK drivers were paying the highest fuel taxes in Europe.

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Members of the FairFuelUK campaign lobby the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster, central London, as part of a day of action calling for lower fuel taxes.
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Hundreds of protesters braved heavy rain on Wednesday lunchtime to take their campaign for fuel duty cuts to Westminster. Pensioners, cabbies, van drivers and hauliers were among those taking to th...
Hundreds of protesters braved heavy rain on Wednesday lunchtime to take their campaign for fuel duty cuts to Westminster. Pensioners, cabbies, van drivers and hauliers were among those taking to th...
 
 
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09:35 AM on 04/19/2012
When the government start to make push bikes pay road tax ,you know the system is cattle trucked
09:22 AM on 03/14/2012
I just 2 weeks looking for a small economical car in the cheaper road tax bracket ,i got square eyes just looking ,and i have been driving my wife,s tiny uncomfortable town car about ,yes its economical
and easy to park ,then i thought i dont care about the price of fuel so i went and bought an old 3LTR classic i worked out with no computers no sensors and no cats and no £70 diagnostics and no limp modes, i would save a fortune as just 1 o2 sensor for my wifes car cost a stagering £223, and it has a lot more sensors ,and the insurance is only £119 a year, so recon with money i save i can afford it ,and its comfortable .
12:03 AM on 03/19/2012
what was the car, model, maker etc?
08:26 AM on 03/19/2012
The wifes car is a Seat Arosa and mine is now a scimitar 3LTR , it cost £119 to insure
and the parts are cheaper than the Seat, a big plus is it does not need a cambelt changing as the valve timing is done with gears ,things like adjustable wheel bearing are a bonus to plus its easy to work on no special tools needed
08:40 AM on 03/19/2012
What better way to start hyper inflation put up the price of fuel and then sell off the roads to private enterprise where the only thing that matters is the share price,the government must have discussed the out come of both but it seems in the relentless need for greed they will destroy country to get the money ,its ok for them as they just retire to some exotic country to retire in luxury ,us we will be left with a mad Max society .
08:56 AM on 03/14/2012
If you are a government minister or an mp you dont have to worry how much fuel costs because you claim it all back and then some .

The government are trying to get as many cars off the roads as possible with their focus on older drivers and drivers who are diabetic ,they are bringing out driving refresher tests ,its hard enough for anyone to pass the driving test anyway let alone they keep adding more and more stuff into it so they can get a high failure rate, apart from keeping people off the roads it generates millions in revenue on retests and extra lessons .

This is about the money to many cars on the road = to much wear and tear /to many accidents/ to many insurance claims .

Apart from all of that the fuel is running out so the price hikes will slow it down bit but the day is soon to come when the only cars on the roads will belong to the ministers and the mp,s .
07:05 PM on 03/11/2012
Until we bring this "government" to its knees not just to remove these parasites but as a warning to future governments they will continue to milk us dry and disrespect us.
There is a very good reason we are seen as a weak submissive people easily fooled and even easier to rob.
We must now begin a general strike and bring them down for our children s sake and their children s sake whilst we still have any vestige of honor left Red xxx
03:22 PM on 04/03/2012
Future Governments - what like Labour or the Lib-Dems? ....and the difference between them and the Tories is what?
02:00 AM on 03/10/2012
Want to reduce fuel prices? Re-enact Glass Stegal:
In 2008, before the banks collapsed , they were leveraging the bets of gas speculator at the usual rates. Probably 40 to 1. When the banks lost their footing, they became unable to play the commodities market, and gas prices tumbled.
Before, it was crude. Today it's refined. No difference. The players still stink.
Without the leverage from bankers, speculators must remain relatively grounded. Glass-Stegal would at least ensure that our taxes, as well as our deposits and fees won't be used by rich cannibals to ruin our lives.
06:03 PM on 03/07/2012
the writing's been 'on the wall' for ages - since '91 when i last wored in logistics. Simply look at the number of foreign registered trucks being operated by UK firms, reason? They've been taxed out of the UK, and, most of the drivers are now eatern europeans asa direct consequence. Net results (a) fewer jobs for UK drivers and (b) any tax revenue stays outside the UK. Lots of UK registered trucks on international work 'fuel up' on arrival on the continent (France/Holland) 'cos it saves them hundereds of pounds per trip. When will governments learn just how short sighted their policies are?
northern git
fed up with all the political crap in life
04:53 PM on 03/07/2012
how is it they cannot make the link between the people being screwed with fuel prices and the tax that is imposed on it and the monies NOT being spent in the high street.
If the people have to spend the money they have on fuel they will spend it on other stuff, in shops, on food, on the odd luxury and the tax works its way round again
cut tax on fuel and money will start to flow in circulation and the tax is recouped elswehere and jobs are saved

this chancellor is obeying the laws of diminishing returns

he is shooting us in the foot

perhaps he needs shooting in the head
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gimmeanamethen
saying it like it is
04:41 PM on 03/07/2012
fair play to them for standing in the rain and protesting, but what's the point?
the government are not going to listen to them.
the best time to protest is at the ballot box. if they don't have a concrete agenda to help drive down n the price of fuel or the huge amount they slap on it it as tax, then don't vote for them.
and if you decide not to vote for your chosen party then don't give your vote to the others either if they are not offering to help do something about the rise in fuel prices.
so what would happen if nobody voted for any of them? they couldn't go into govern as they were not asked to represent us. having the most expensive fuel in europe for a very long time has gone on long enough.if this protest today doesn't work then every car,van and truck driver should decend on london and bring it to a toal gridlock until they come out and do something to help the small businesses that are folding due to these astronomical prices they put on fuel.
rnt over.
06:51 PM on 03/08/2012
Do you really expect the bone idle Brits ( when it comes to protesting anything) to do anything like gridlocking London,. or anywhere else?

Take a look at the railways...fares continuously rising, when did you hear of the passengers deciding to say stuff it and stay at home.

Whenever a group of one sort or another,, workers, fuel prices, or any other, sets out to demonstrate, do they get anywhere, of course they don't, and the simple reason why is, because as a whole the British are too wrapped up in their own personal concerns to take communal action.

Maybe a few more months of this coalition will infuse that whole with a fervour enough to cause the government to rethink ALL of it's strategies, but I seriously doubt it, all we will get is more of the same, one group facing off against another, anti hunting against the Greens, Unions against the meek and mild, who are too scared to take any sort of decisive action to defend both themselves, and those less able.

We need a new militancy here in the UK, hopefully it will present itself in the not too distant future,............ but I will not hold my breath.
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gimmeanamethen
saying it like it is
08:41 PM on 03/08/2012
well something has to give, like you say rail fares are a joke and the passengers don't say stuff it and stay home, but they also don't say stuff it, i will drive to work. public transport is a joke on the whole. rising fuel prices, rising ticket prices, poor services in return. and the fare/fuel payers wages stagnante,so that means a lot either go out of business or it is just not viable for them to contiinue to tavel to work and pay their household and food bills. so lets hope something happens.