The Price At The Pump

Petrol at the pump has hit 105.9p per litre at my local filling station, yet despite the high price and the fact that oil prices are expected to rise for the rest of this year the Government is adding a further 2p per litre in duty from midnight tonight (2.3p including VAT).

At a time when families are feeling the pinch, and considering the already high levels of duty already collected on fuel, why is the Government pressing ahead with this raise? With the increases in oil price in the last two years prices are up about 40p in a litre already, and that includes additional VAT being collected. If the Conservatives have opposed this move they have not been vocal enough about it, as I haven’t heard any protest from anyone.

If the government really wants to help poor people it should reverse immediately the increase in fuel duty and let everyone of us know what they are doing to help reduce the price of petrol to UK consumers; excluding of course their recently uncovered policy of trading convicted terrorists for oil contracts.



Update 01-Sep-09: Tarquin helpfully provides the below graph which he rightly mentions makes the point much better than words can: