You are in: > Hot Topics > Fuel
You are in: > Hot Topics > Fuel
Over the past 10 years various groups of commercial vehicle operators – mainly hauliers and farmers – have threatened direct action in protest at high levels of fuel duty in the UK.
The groups in question include organisations such as Transaction 2007 and websites such as Fuelprotest.com.
A two-pronged approach: a convoy through London on Wednesday 2 July starting at the A40. This will be followed by a mass lobby of parliament.
The organisations involved rule this out on the grounds that it’s illegal. However, that’s not to say rogue protestors not connected to the organisations involved could at some point attempt to take matters into their own hands.
A mixture of several organisations: Wednesday’s protest was originally organised by pressure group TransAction – a loose collective of hauliers that was behind some of the protests in 2000 and the two demonstrations in April and May this year. However, since it was first suggested the Road Haulage Association has come on board as has the Transport Association, which represents around 60 of the biggest family-owned haulage companies in the country. The other industry body, the Freight Transport Association, has been conducting its own campaign and dialogue with the government and does not favour direct action.
The simple answer is the price of fuel. This has soared by over 40% the last 12 months from 76p/lit this time last year to an average of 106p/lit per litre now. Although clearly this has gone up across the world the UK government has exacerbated the problem with a particularly high tax take – 50p on a litre of fuel. Apart from the Netherlands we pay the highest fuel tax of anywhere in Europe. The government is still planning to add another 2p of tax to a litre of fuel in October.
Some can, some can’t. Generally the more sizeable businesses will have what are known as fuel escalators built into their contracts so that when the price of fuel goes up, their rate goes up too. However, for those at the smaller end or working on a casual basis it is much harder to get customers to agree to the introduction of either fuel escalators or rate rises. Additionally customers have their own cost pressures too – and they may not be in a position to sustain constant price rises any more than the haulier can.
Ultimately cost rises are reflected in the price the public pays for goods in the shops too – between 10-15% of the cost of anything in the supermarket is taken up by distribution costs and a 10% rise in the price of fuel equates to an extra 3% of transport cost.
Because fuel is still relatively cheap on the continent it is possible for foreign vehicles to come to the UK with a full tank of fuel and undertake what’s known as cabotage – intra-UK journeys at a much reduced price. Although this work is currently limited to a temporary basis, foreign vehicles have a wider ‘footprint’ in that they distort the market by depressing prices. An additional concern is the fact that foreign trucks, particularly those from Eastern Europe, are frequently found to be in a worse condition than those from the UK and their drivers more likely to be breaking the stringent hours regulations that govern the sector, putting public safety at risk.
To compound the problem the EU wants to liberalise the haulage market in the future, allowing hauliers from any country to work in the UK for an indefinite period.
In a recent piece of research for the FTA it was found that apart from Holland, UK hauliers had the highest operating costs of anywhere in Europe.
First and foremost is that the government cancel the fuel duty rise planned for October.
Secondly they want the government to give the industry an ‘Essential User Rebate’ – i.e. to lower the duty paid on fuel used by road hauliers, recognising that they provide an essential service to the country. This would be similar to the tax break enjoyed by farmers on red diesel. Ultimately there needs to be a decoupling of the way the haulage industry is taxed from the rest of the motoring population.
At the same time the RHA has sponsored an SNP amendment to the Finance Bill that proposes the introduction of a fuel duty regulator, so that when the price of fuel rose beyond a certain level, the rate of duty came down, effectively capping the price.
Officially it is still pressing ahead with the October duty hike, although most observers believe this will be postponed. However, the government is widely recognised to be in a financial mess and the Treasury is loath to forfeit any revenue. FTA estimates that if the 2p/lit does not go ahead then the government will miss out on some £2bn of revenue. Equally it is pursuing a green agenda and because all motorists pay the same tax on fuel it feels that if it cuts fuel taxes it is sending out the wrong message about car use.
It is also insistent that the industry become more efficient in order to maximise its profitability. It says that extra resources are the answer to illegal foreign operation rather than any form of charging.
The government would also like to see a modal shift to rail.
Put simply, it doesn’t work for the majority of freight. Even if the infrastructure was there to cater for a massive increase in the amount of goods transported by rail, the end journey would still need to be performed by a truck. Think about where your nearest railhead is…
Protests have taken place across the country, but they have remained at a small scale. According to a BBC story, "Protests against the rising cost of fuel got off to a slow start as small pockets of demonstrators gathered at oil refineries across the UK."
In Scotland, the RHA planned a rolling protest of trucks along major roads, but this does not seem to have caused problems.
The Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS) - an organisation of independent fuel stations - has condemned the idea of fuel protests, calling them "futile". In a press release on Thursday, they said:
As an organisation, the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS) would welcome a reduction in the duty on fuel, but we do not support any form of blockade as a way to bring this about. We would urge the public not to be dragged into a situation of panic-buying as a consequence of these protest threats as this would cause more problems than any blockade itself.
Massive fuel protests in Italy this week have caused substantial problems for industry and the public, and have ended with the Italian government giving major concessions on fuel prices, foreign competition and haulage contracts. It remains to be seen whether this will encourage more UK operators to become involved in this weekend's events.
Transaction2007 have decided to release the date and time of protest action earlier than scheduled. This is to enable the motorist and public to better prepare themselves for the coming action.
A date of Saturday 15th December 2007 at 10:00am has been decided for protest action. This date was decided by members as the best possible to enable those who would normally be working during the week to attend. This action will be initiated at a refinery or storage depot somewhere near you. Anyone wishing to support action is requested to make your way there at the allotted time. Transaction again wish to emphasise the importance of legal protesting.
Pressure group Transaction 2007 is declining to comment on the outcome of a meeting of hauliers and farmers in the North-East last night to discuss the fuel duty hikes and the prospect of protest action.
Founder Mike Presneill says: “All updates will now come from the Transaction 2007 website”. He also declined to say anything about the recent statement released by the Road Haulage Association denouncing any relationship with Transaction 2007.
Operators who do anything illegal while protesting against fuel prices can expect to answer to their TC, Senior Traffic Commissioner Phillip Brown has told Commercial Motor. He says that illegality will be brought to the TCs’ attention by the enforcement authorities. His predecessor issued a statement during the September 2000 protests that operators illegally blockading refineries risked losing their operator’s licences.
The Road Haulage Association has said concern for their O-licences is a major disincentive for many of its members to protest.
A spokesman for the Cabinet Office, which would co-ordinate any official response, says: “Nothing has happened, there are no pickets taking place. We wouldn’t discuss a hypothetical situation and there is nothing much more we can do. We have plans to cope with a wide range of emergencies, and lessons have been learned from what happened in 2000.”
Back to the top
If you are attending a fuel protest, please let us know how you're getting on – whether you're getting public support, or hassle from the authorities, whatever. Use any mobile phone to send an SMS text message to 07788 565361, or email us here at Roadtransport.com - and please don't forget to include your name.
Reed Business Information Limited.©2009
