UK fuel protests
Encyclopedia
The fuel protests in the United Kingdom were a series of campaigns
held in the United Kingdom
over the cost of petrol and diesel for road vehicle use. There have been three notable campaigns amongst many other protests in the 21st century. The first protest
in 2000 was primarily led by lorry
drivers and farmer
s. Blockades of oil facilities caused widespread disruption to the supply of petroleum products with knock on effects for the public and the authorities, as well as causing a reduction in popularity for the incumbent government
. The aim of the protests was to secure a reduction in the fuel duty rate on petrol and diesel, which the government refused to enact. After the protest ended, the government did announce a freezing of fuel duties, and promised changes would be made to the way that goods vehicles were taxed which would include the taxing of foreign vehicles operating on British roads.
Subsequent protests have not had as significant an impact, but did result in some panic buying
in 2005. The 2007 fuel protests were not widely supported nor did they cause much disruption. Many felt that the 2007 fuel protests were politically-motivated given that the main protesters were Conservative lorry drivers and farmers . The Conservative leader, David Cameron
, gave them his support and promised a “fair fuel stabiliser” - a proposal to limit the price of petrol that was part of the Conservative manifesto for the 2010 UK general election and was announced to be implemented following the budget of March, 2011. The “fair fuel stabiliser” which was meant to lower taxes levied on fuel as the price rose and raise tax as the price fell, in fact tax will still rise as the oil price rises but the tax will be capped at the level of inflation at that time and will be applied twice a year, but when the oil price is falling then the tax can be greater than inflation. Quote from "Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates" section 3.44 (http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_taxation_overview.pdf) "When oil prices are high, as now, fuel duty will increase by the retail prices index (RPI). However, if the oil price falls below a set trigger price on a sustained basis, the Government will increase fuel duty by RPI plus 1 penny per litre. The Government believes that a trigger price of $75 per barrel would be appropriate, and will set a final trigger price and mechanism after seeking the views of oil and gas companies and motoring groups".
and value added tax
(VAT). Fuel duty is applied at a fixed amount per litre by fuel type, and VAT is then added as a percentage
of the combined total of the cost of the fuel and the fuel duty. Historically, fuel duty was increased annually, broadly in line with inflation. In 1993 the fuel price escalator
was introduced by the Conservatives, justified as being designed to encourage less motor vehicle use, and thus combat climate change
. The idea was to annually increase fuel duty, initially at 3%, later rising to 5%, above the rate of inflation. The Blair administration
then increased the rate at which the escalator exceeded inflation to 6%.
to being the most expensive in the same time frame. The protesters said that higher transport costs in the UK were making it difficult for haulage industry to remain competitive. The worldwide price of oil had increased from $10 to $30 a barrel, the highest level in 10 years. Drivers in the UK were now paying an average of 80 pence a litre for unleaded and 80.8p for diesel. The government had already abandoned the fuel tax escalator in early 2000.
against rising fuel prices and announced their intentions for a nationwide campaign. The Conservative Party
organised a day of protest on 29 July 2000 to draw attention to how fuel prices had increased under Labour
, visiting town centres with petitions and distributing leaflets. The Boycott the Pumps campaign, also referred to as Dump the Pumps, was organised for 1 August 2000, with motorists being urged not to visit petrol stations
on that day. Support for the day was reported to be patchy, with forecourts in the North-West being hit the hardest, some reporting a 50% drop in business.
On 8 September 2000, Stanlow Shell
oil refinery near Ellesmere Port
in Cheshire
was blockade
d by Farmers for Action, led by David Handley
. Over the next few days, pickets were reported at Milford Haven
and an oil terminal at Avonmouth
causing some petrol stations to run out of supplies. On 8 September 2000, fuel protesters blockaded several facilities for a limited period and disrupted fuel supplies to Yorkshire
, North West England
and the Scottish Borders
and demanding that the government reduce fuel taxes. Some of the protesters called for a reduction of between 15 and 26 pence per litre in duties.
The protests spread so that on Sunday 10 September 2000 they included facilities at the Manchester Fuels Terminal, the largest inland oil terminal at Kingsbury and at Cardiff
docks. Panic buying of petrol began to close some petrol stations as motorists queued for fuel which was beginning to be rationed
and reports of garages increasing their prices substantially. Rolling roadblocks were also reported in North East England
on the A1 and A55
roads. On 11 September 2000, the government obtained an Order in Council which was authorised by the Privy Council and the Queen
to take emergency powers under the Energy Act 1976 to ensure delivery of fuel to essential services. By now 6 of the 9 refineries and 4 oil distribution depots were subject to protests.
By Tuesday 12 September 2000, 3,000 petrol stations were reported to be closed due to a lack of fuel. There were also reports that there would be no fuel left within 48 hours. Tony Blair
, the Prime Minister
put the oil companies under pressure to resume deliveries. BP
said that they would resume deliveries if police escorts were given to the tankers. Tony Blair had been in contact with the oil companies during the day and announced that supplies would be back to normal within 24 hours, with the oil companies having been ordered under the government's powers to commence deliveries to the emergency services. At the same time BBC News
reported that the government's COBRA
committee had drawn up plans to deal with the crisis, including using the military to assist in moving supplies and restricting the sale of fuel. South West Trains
were reported to be reducing some of their services to preserve fuel supplies. Deliberately slow moving convoys of lorries caused traffic jams on the M1
and M5 motorway
s.
On 13 September 2000 the government announced that 5% of normal fuel deliveries were made, however other reports indicated that only 3.8% amounting to 5000000 litres (10,566,892.7 US pt) compared with a normal daily sale of 131000000 litres (276,852,587.6 US pt). In Scotland
only very limited supplies were being delivered for emergency use only. Three quarters of petrol stations were reported to be without fuel. Some NHS trust
s cancelled non-essential operations due to staff difficulties in reaching work, ambulances were only able to answer emergency calls in most parts of the UK and the National Blood Service
reported difficulties in moving supplies around the country. The government placed the NHS on red alert. Supermarkets began rationing food due to difficulties in getting food deliveries through and there were reports of panic buying. Sainsbury's warned that they would run out of food within days having seen a 50% increase in their sales over the previous two days; Tesco
and Safeway
stated that they were rationing some items. The Royal Mail
also reported they didn't have enough fuel supplies to maintain deliveries and that schools began to close. The government began deploying military tankers around the country and designated 2,000 petrol stations to receive supplies for essential services. Some deliveries commenced from the refineries and the police
supplied escorts as required to ensure that tankers could move.
On 14 September 2000 the protests began to end. Several blockades of refineries were still in operation and the first deliveries were sent to designated distribution points under the emergency
powers obtained by the government. Bus companies had warned that diesel stocks were running out and that services would need to be restricted to extend supplies. The protesters said that they were giving the government sixty days to act on the issue or they would protest further. A planned protest by truck drivers in London was contained by the Metropolitan Police
and did not cause disruption. A later report following an analysis of the automated counting equipment on the road network the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions showed that at the protest's peak, 14 September, car flows on UK motorways was 39% below normal levels and on major roads 25% below. However for road haulage the numbers showed a smaller decline of 13% on both motorways and major roads.
By 16 September 2000, supplies were beginning to be restored, at first only to the government designated petrol stations, the number of which had risen to 3,300. The London Chamber of Commerce reported that the protests cost businesses £250 million a day. After the protests had ended the Institute of Directors
estimated the cost to UK businesses at £1billion.
with the protesters by members of the government and its advisors. It was reported that the police had kept the roads clear yet tankers were being kept in the depots and not delivering petrol. The Transport and General Workers Union said that there had been incidents of intimidation against drivers of the fuel tankers. The possibility of court injunctions against the protesters was explored by TotalElfFina who received legal advice that it would be difficult to obtain and enforce one as there was not a named individual on which to serve the injunction. The company also stated that even if roads were clear, delivering fuel might change the mood of the protesters which had been "amicable" and that "Getting fuel to the pumps would only solve the short-term problem and not deal with the original concerns of protesters." The TGWU subsequently called for a public inquiry
into reports of collusion between the demonstrators and the oil companies, saying that they had evidence of protestors being allowed access to the oil companies' sites without security checks and that drivers who had been willing to deliver fuel being told not to.
The government stated that they would not back down in the face of protests or introduce an emergency budget. The government argued that the rise in prices was due to increases in the world oil market prices and not the government's fuel duty. Whilst agreeing that the government could not make policy in response to the blockades, William Hague
, Leader of the Opposition
criticised the government for having increased taxes, whilst the Liberal Democrats
argued that the government should have responded to the protest much earlier. The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
called for a reduction in fuel duties during the action.
A BBC
opinion poll conducted by ICM
of 514 people by telephone showed that the public support on 12 September 2000 for the protesters stood at 78% until the possibility of essential services being affected when it fell to 36%. An opinion poll for the Daily Mail
of 502 people showed that over three quarters thought the government had handled the crisis badly. Two opinion polls shortly after the protests had ended showed the Conservative Party
had overtaken or reached equal standing with the governing Labour Party
. By November support for the renewal of protests and the revival of the Conservative's fortunes had both been reduced, with Labour retaking a poll lead.
, Gordon Brown
, announced numerous changes which could ease the tax burden for motorists, and which included the taxing of foreign lorries using British roads. These changes included a cut in duty on ultra-low sulphur petrol, a freeze on fuel duty for other grades of fuel until at least April 2002 (effectively ending the fuel duty escalator), placing more vehicles into the lower vehicle excise duty
(VED) band, an average cut of more than 50% on VED for lorries, and a Brit Disc vignette
scheme requiring all lorries, including those from overseas, to pay tax
to use British roads. The fuel duty freeze has been estimated to have cost the Treasury
£2billion pounds annually in a 2004 report by the Economic and Social Research Council
.
A renewed protest that same month, involving a convoy
from North East England to London, did not produce the same level of support or disruption as before. It ended with a protest in Hyde Park
and the closure of the Westway
by vehicles left parked on it. A similar protest from John O'Groats to Edinburgh
resulted in around 80 vehicles congregating in the centre of the Scottish capital. There had been some panic buying of petrol due to this protest and there were temporary closures of some petrol stations.
Brynle Williams
who was one of the organisers of the protests later became a member of the Welsh Assembly for the Conservative party.
caused damage to some oil facilities in the United States of America.
The BBC
reported on 7 September 2005 that the group responsible for the blockades in September 2000 was threatening to stage protests at oil refineries from 0600 BST
on 14 September 2005 unless reductions in fuel duty were made. Newspapers reported that on 10 September 2005, the government had drawn up contingency plans to maintain the supply of fuel, including using 1000 army drivers to operate tankers, introducing fuel rationing and confiscating the driving licences of those who broke the law. Panic buying was reported on 13 September 2005 as drivers stocked up on fuel with drivers reported to be waiting an hour to fill their vehicles with petrol. At its height, around 3,000 petrol stations were emptied of fuel.
However, on 14 September 2005, only a small number of protesters arrived at the refineries with no intention to start blockading the entrances. The UK Petroleum Industry Association said the day's protest had proved "thankfully amazingly quiet", with the largest event attended by People's Fuel Lobby leader Andrew Spence, attracting just 10 protesters at its peak. At the Stanlow Refinery
, which was blockaded in 2000 only two protesters attended the demonstration. Further protests on the 16 September 2005 occurred on the M4 motorway
where lorries drove as slow as 15 miles per hour (6.7 m/s).
In responding to the protests, the government argued that lower than needed supplies by OPEC
and the Katrina hurricane had a more significant impact on the price of fuel than the level of duty.
per litre with a 2 pence rise in fuel tax in October, resulting in the highest diesel prices and the fourth highest for petrol in Europe. New protests were planned by two unconnected groups, one called Transaction 2007 and the Road Haulage Association
(RHA). The Scottish
branch of the RHA proposed a rolling roadblock by around 30 vehicles, whereas Transaction 2007 intended to protest outside oil refineries. Whilst the rolling road block attracted 45 vehicles driving at around 40 miles per hour (17.9 m/s) on several motorways, the level of protest at oil refineries was lower than in 2000. One of the campaign aims of the RHA was the introduction of a fuel price regulator who would control duty during periods which was supported by Alex Salmond
, First Minister of Scotland
.
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
held in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
over the cost of petrol and diesel for road vehicle use. There have been three notable campaigns amongst many other protests in the 21st century. The first protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
in 2000 was primarily led by lorry
Lorry
-Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:...
drivers and farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s. Blockades of oil facilities caused widespread disruption to the supply of petroleum products with knock on effects for the public and the authorities, as well as causing a reduction in popularity for the incumbent government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. The aim of the protests was to secure a reduction in the fuel duty rate on petrol and diesel, which the government refused to enact. After the protest ended, the government did announce a freezing of fuel duties, and promised changes would be made to the way that goods vehicles were taxed which would include the taxing of foreign vehicles operating on British roads.
Subsequent protests have not had as significant an impact, but did result in some panic buying
Panic buying
Panic buying is an imprecise common use term to describe the act of people buying unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of or after a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large price increase or shortage, as can occur before a blizzard or hurricane or government...
in 2005. The 2007 fuel protests were not widely supported nor did they cause much disruption. Many felt that the 2007 fuel protests were politically-motivated given that the main protesters were Conservative lorry drivers and farmers . The Conservative leader, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, gave them his support and promised a “fair fuel stabiliser” - a proposal to limit the price of petrol that was part of the Conservative manifesto for the 2010 UK general election and was announced to be implemented following the budget of March, 2011. The “fair fuel stabiliser” which was meant to lower taxes levied on fuel as the price rose and raise tax as the price fell, in fact tax will still rise as the oil price rises but the tax will be capped at the level of inflation at that time and will be applied twice a year, but when the oil price is falling then the tax can be greater than inflation. Quote from "Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates" section 3.44 (http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_taxation_overview.pdf) "When oil prices are high, as now, fuel duty will increase by the retail prices index (RPI). However, if the oil price falls below a set trigger price on a sustained basis, the Government will increase fuel duty by RPI plus 1 penny per litre. The Government believes that a trigger price of $75 per barrel would be appropriate, and will set a final trigger price and mechanism after seeking the views of oil and gas companies and motoring groups".
Background
In the United Kingdom, tax on fuel for road use is made up of two elements, fuel dutyHydrocarbon oil duty
Hydrocarbon oil duty is fuel tax levied on some fuels used by road vehicles in the United Kingdom. Between 1993 and 1999 the Government's Fuel Price Escalator led to significant rises in the cost of fuel which led to fuel tax protests in 2000, 2005 and 2007. In May 2008, UK fuel tax rates were one...
and value added tax
Value added tax
A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...
(VAT). Fuel duty is applied at a fixed amount per litre by fuel type, and VAT is then added as a percentage
Percentage
In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 . It is often denoted using the percent sign, “%”, or the abbreviation “pct”. For example, 45% is equal to 45/100, or 0.45.Percentages are used to express how large/small one quantity is, relative to another quantity...
of the combined total of the cost of the fuel and the fuel duty. Historically, fuel duty was increased annually, broadly in line with inflation. In 1993 the fuel price escalator
Fuel Price Escalator
The Fuel Price Escalator was the practice of automatically increasing hydrocarbon oil duty in the United Kingdom ahead of inflation. The escalator was introduced as a measure to stem the increase in pollution from road transport and cut the need for new road building which was then a politically...
was introduced by the Conservatives, justified as being designed to encourage less motor vehicle use, and thus combat climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. The idea was to annually increase fuel duty, initially at 3%, later rising to 5%, above the rate of inflation. The Blair administration
Premiership of Tony Blair
The Premiership of Tony Blair began on 2 May 1997 and ended on 27 June 2007. While serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Blair concurrently served as the First Lord of the Treasury, the Minister for the Civil Service, the Leader of the Labour Party , and a Member of Parliament for the...
then increased the rate at which the escalator exceeded inflation to 6%.
2000
By 2000, tax accounted for 81.5% of the total cost of unleaded petrol, up from 72.8% in 1993. Fuel prices in the UK had risen from being amongst the cheapest in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to being the most expensive in the same time frame. The protesters said that higher transport costs in the UK were making it difficult for haulage industry to remain competitive. The worldwide price of oil had increased from $10 to $30 a barrel, the highest level in 10 years. Drivers in the UK were now paying an average of 80 pence a litre for unleaded and 80.8p for diesel. The government had already abandoned the fuel tax escalator in early 2000.
Timeline and effects
In 1999, lorry drivers had undertaken protests in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
against rising fuel prices and announced their intentions for a nationwide campaign. The Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
organised a day of protest on 29 July 2000 to draw attention to how fuel prices had increased under Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, visiting town centres with petitions and distributing leaflets. The Boycott the Pumps campaign, also referred to as Dump the Pumps, was organised for 1 August 2000, with motorists being urged not to visit petrol stations
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
on that day. Support for the day was reported to be patchy, with forecourts in the North-West being hit the hardest, some reporting a 50% drop in business.
On 8 September 2000, Stanlow Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
oil refinery near Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
was blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
d by Farmers for Action, led by David Handley
David Handley
David Handley is the leader of the militant pressure group Farmers for Action.-Biography:He was a leader of the UK fuel protestors in September 2000...
. Over the next few days, pickets were reported at Milford Haven
Milford Haven
Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
and an oil terminal at Avonmouth
Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and suburb of Bristol, England, located on the Severn Estuary, at the mouth of the River Avon.The council ward of Avonmouth also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston.- Geography :...
causing some petrol stations to run out of supplies. On 8 September 2000, fuel protesters blockaded several facilities for a limited period and disrupted fuel supplies to Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
and the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
and demanding that the government reduce fuel taxes. Some of the protesters called for a reduction of between 15 and 26 pence per litre in duties.
The protests spread so that on Sunday 10 September 2000 they included facilities at the Manchester Fuels Terminal, the largest inland oil terminal at Kingsbury and at Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
docks. Panic buying of petrol began to close some petrol stations as motorists queued for fuel which was beginning to be rationed
Rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...
and reports of garages increasing their prices substantially. Rolling roadblocks were also reported in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
on the A1 and A55
A55 road
The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway, is a major road in Britain. Its entire length is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the point where it crosses the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait. All junctions are grade separated except for two roundabouts — one...
roads. On 11 September 2000, the government obtained an Order in Council which was authorised by the Privy Council and the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
to take emergency powers under the Energy Act 1976 to ensure delivery of fuel to essential services. By now 6 of the 9 refineries and 4 oil distribution depots were subject to protests.
By Tuesday 12 September 2000, 3,000 petrol stations were reported to be closed due to a lack of fuel. There were also reports that there would be no fuel left within 48 hours. Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
put the oil companies under pressure to resume deliveries. BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
said that they would resume deliveries if police escorts were given to the tankers. Tony Blair had been in contact with the oil companies during the day and announced that supplies would be back to normal within 24 hours, with the oil companies having been ordered under the government's powers to commence deliveries to the emergency services. At the same time BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
reported that the government's COBRA
Civil Contingencies Committee
The Civil Contingencies Committee is a British cabinet committee chaired by the Home Secretary. It is intended to deal with major crises such as terrorism or natural disasters...
committee had drawn up plans to deal with the crisis, including using the military to assist in moving supplies and restricting the sale of fuel. South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
were reported to be reducing some of their services to preserve fuel supplies. Deliberately slow moving convoys of lorries caused traffic jams on the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
and M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
s.
On 13 September 2000 the government announced that 5% of normal fuel deliveries were made, however other reports indicated that only 3.8% amounting to 5000000 litres (10,566,892.7 US pt) compared with a normal daily sale of 131000000 litres (276,852,587.6 US pt). In Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
only very limited supplies were being delivered for emergency use only. Three quarters of petrol stations were reported to be without fuel. Some NHS trust
NHS Trust
A National Health Service trust provides services on behalf of the National Health Service in England and NHS Wales.The trusts are not trusts in the legal sense but are in effect public sector corporations. Each trust is headed by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors, and is...
s cancelled non-essential operations due to staff difficulties in reaching work, ambulances were only able to answer emergency calls in most parts of the UK and the National Blood Service
National Blood Service
The National Blood Service is the organisation for England and North Wales which collects blood and other tissues, tests, processes, and supplies all the hospitals in England and North Wales...
reported difficulties in moving supplies around the country. The government placed the NHS on red alert. Supermarkets began rationing food due to difficulties in getting food deliveries through and there were reports of panic buying. Sainsbury's warned that they would run out of food within days having seen a 50% increase in their sales over the previous two days; Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
and Safeway
Safeway (UK)
Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
stated that they were rationing some items. The Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
also reported they didn't have enough fuel supplies to maintain deliveries and that schools began to close. The government began deploying military tankers around the country and designated 2,000 petrol stations to receive supplies for essential services. Some deliveries commenced from the refineries and the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
supplied escorts as required to ensure that tankers could move.
On 14 September 2000 the protests began to end. Several blockades of refineries were still in operation and the first deliveries were sent to designated distribution points under the emergency
Emergency
An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative...
powers obtained by the government. Bus companies had warned that diesel stocks were running out and that services would need to be restricted to extend supplies. The protesters said that they were giving the government sixty days to act on the issue or they would protest further. A planned protest by truck drivers in London was contained by the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
and did not cause disruption. A later report following an analysis of the automated counting equipment on the road network the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions showed that at the protest's peak, 14 September, car flows on UK motorways was 39% below normal levels and on major roads 25% below. However for road haulage the numbers showed a smaller decline of 13% on both motorways and major roads.
By 16 September 2000, supplies were beginning to be restored, at first only to the government designated petrol stations, the number of which had risen to 3,300. The London Chamber of Commerce reported that the protests cost businesses £250 million a day. After the protests had ended the Institute of Directors
Institute of Directors
The Institute of Directors is a UK-based organisation, established in 1903 and incorporated by royal charter in 1906 to support, represent and set standards for company directors...
estimated the cost to UK businesses at £1billion.
Reaction
During the protests the oil companies were accused of collusionCollusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...
with the protesters by members of the government and its advisors. It was reported that the police had kept the roads clear yet tankers were being kept in the depots and not delivering petrol. The Transport and General Workers Union said that there had been incidents of intimidation against drivers of the fuel tankers. The possibility of court injunctions against the protesters was explored by TotalElfFina who received legal advice that it would be difficult to obtain and enforce one as there was not a named individual on which to serve the injunction. The company also stated that even if roads were clear, delivering fuel might change the mood of the protesters which had been "amicable" and that "Getting fuel to the pumps would only solve the short-term problem and not deal with the original concerns of protesters." The TGWU subsequently called for a public inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
into reports of collusion between the demonstrators and the oil companies, saying that they had evidence of protestors being allowed access to the oil companies' sites without security checks and that drivers who had been willing to deliver fuel being told not to.
The government stated that they would not back down in the face of protests or introduce an emergency budget. The government argued that the rise in prices was due to increases in the world oil market prices and not the government's fuel duty. Whilst agreeing that the government could not make policy in response to the blockades, William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
, Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...
criticised the government for having increased taxes, whilst the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
argued that the government should have responded to the protest much earlier. The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001.The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the "Old Mechanics" of 1826, which grew into the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in 1851...
called for a reduction in fuel duties during the action.
A BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
opinion poll conducted by ICM
ICM
-Organizations:*International Confederation of Midwives* International Creative Management, a talent and literary agency* ICM Research, a polling company ; a subsidiary of Creston plc, a marketing services company registered in England and Wales* ICM Registry LLC, the company that sponsors the .xxx...
of 514 people by telephone showed that the public support on 12 September 2000 for the protesters stood at 78% until the possibility of essential services being affected when it fell to 36%. An opinion poll for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
of 502 people showed that over three quarters thought the government had handled the crisis badly. Two opinion polls shortly after the protests had ended showed the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
had overtaken or reached equal standing with the governing Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. By November support for the renewal of protests and the revival of the Conservative's fortunes had both been reduced, with Labour retaking a poll lead.
Consequences
In his pre-Budget report of 8 November 2000, the ChancellorChancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, announced numerous changes which could ease the tax burden for motorists, and which included the taxing of foreign lorries using British roads. These changes included a cut in duty on ultra-low sulphur petrol, a freeze on fuel duty for other grades of fuel until at least April 2002 (effectively ending the fuel duty escalator), placing more vehicles into the lower vehicle excise duty
Vehicle excise duty
Vehicle Excise Duty is a vehicle road use tax levied as an excise duty which must be paid for most types of vehicle which are to be used on the public roads in the United Kingdom...
(VED) band, an average cut of more than 50% on VED for lorries, and a Brit Disc vignette
Vignette (road tax)
A road tax vignette is a form of tax on vehicles, used in several non-English speaking European countries. The term is of French origin, and is now used throughout Central Europe....
scheme requiring all lorries, including those from overseas, to pay tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
to use British roads. The fuel duty freeze has been estimated to have cost the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
£2billion pounds annually in a 2004 report by the Economic and Social Research Council
Economic and Social Research Council
The Economic and Social Research Council is one of the seven Research Councils in the United Kingdom. It receives most of its funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and provides funding and support for research and training work in social and economic issues, such as...
.
A renewed protest that same month, involving a convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
from North East England to London, did not produce the same level of support or disruption as before. It ended with a protest in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
and the closure of the Westway
Westway (London)
The Westway is a long elevated dual carriageway section of the A40 route in west London running from Paddington to North Kensington. The road was constructed between 1964 and 1970 to relieve congestion at Shepherd's Bush caused by traffic from Western Avenue struggling to enter central London on...
by vehicles left parked on it. A similar protest from John O'Groats to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
resulted in around 80 vehicles congregating in the centre of the Scottish capital. There had been some panic buying of petrol due to this protest and there were temporary closures of some petrol stations.
Brynle Williams
Brynle Williams
Brynle Williams was a North Wales Assembly Member for the Welsh Conservative Party in the National Assembly for Wales. Elected from the North Wales Regional list, he was Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs from 2007-2011...
who was one of the organisers of the protests later became a member of the Welsh Assembly for the Conservative party.
2005
In August 2005, petrol increased in price to record highs of over 90 pence, with a small number of stations charging over £1 a litre In September the average price had reached 94.6p a litre, with the rise being partially blamed on decreased world supply after Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
caused damage to some oil facilities in the United States of America.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported on 7 September 2005 that the group responsible for the blockades in September 2000 was threatening to stage protests at oil refineries from 0600 BST
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
on 14 September 2005 unless reductions in fuel duty were made. Newspapers reported that on 10 September 2005, the government had drawn up contingency plans to maintain the supply of fuel, including using 1000 army drivers to operate tankers, introducing fuel rationing and confiscating the driving licences of those who broke the law. Panic buying was reported on 13 September 2005 as drivers stocked up on fuel with drivers reported to be waiting an hour to fill their vehicles with petrol. At its height, around 3,000 petrol stations were emptied of fuel.
However, on 14 September 2005, only a small number of protesters arrived at the refineries with no intention to start blockading the entrances. The UK Petroleum Industry Association said the day's protest had proved "thankfully amazingly quiet", with the largest event attended by People's Fuel Lobby leader Andrew Spence, attracting just 10 protesters at its peak. At the Stanlow Refinery
Stanlow Refinery
Stanlow Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Essar Energy in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. It was previously owned by Royal Dutch Shell and is part of the Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex.-History:...
, which was blockaded in 2000 only two protesters attended the demonstration. Further protests on the 16 September 2005 occurred on the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
where lorries drove as slow as 15 miles per hour (6.7 m/s).
In responding to the protests, the government argued that lower than needed supplies by OPEC
OPEC
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...
and the Katrina hurricane had a more significant impact on the price of fuel than the level of duty.
2007
Towards the end of 2007, fuel prices exceeded £1Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
per litre with a 2 pence rise in fuel tax in October, resulting in the highest diesel prices and the fourth highest for petrol in Europe. New protests were planned by two unconnected groups, one called Transaction 2007 and the Road Haulage Association
Road Haulage Association
The Road Haulage Association Ltd is a UK trade association which represents members of the road haulage industry, together with allied businesses. The RHA has been in continuous existence for more than fifty years...
(RHA). The Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
branch of the RHA proposed a rolling roadblock by around 30 vehicles, whereas Transaction 2007 intended to protest outside oil refineries. Whilst the rolling road block attracted 45 vehicles driving at around 40 miles per hour (17.9 m/s) on several motorways, the level of protest at oil refineries was lower than in 2000. One of the campaign aims of the RHA was the introduction of a fuel price regulator who would control duty during periods which was supported by Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, First Minister of Scotland
First Minister of Scotland
The First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...
.
External links
- BBC In Depth - World Fuel Crisis 2000
- BBC News Reports in Real Media Format during the 2000 protests
- Truckers in diesel price protest - May '08
- AA Petrol Price survey and AAPetrolBusters.com price comparison website on the Wayback machine, showing prices over time. The current price survey is slightly out of the date and AAPetrolBusters.com has ceased operations.