Petrol War Hots Up as Drivers 'Dump Pumps' The Belfast Telegraph

July 31, 2000

THE petrol price war intensified today as stations braced themselves for the approaching dump-the-pump boycott tomorrow.

Both BP and Shell have cut the price of unleaded fuel, but said the cuts were a reaction to falling commodity prices rather than in response to similar price cuts by supermarkets.

Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons have already taken prices below 80p per litre while Asda has said it is offering petrol at 79.5p per litre at some sites.

The falling prices come as motorists will be urged to boycott pumps this week in protest at high prices.

Businessman Gary Russell wants drivers to boycott pumps tomorrow and then avoid forecourts every Monday after that in a "dump-the-pump" campaign aimed at highlighting the amount of tax the British pay on their fuel.

Mr Russell said: "If we sit back and do nothing then before too long we will have the #5 gallon.

"If we paid as much tax on certain items as we do on petrol then a first-class stamp would cost #1.13, a cinema ticket would be nearly #22 and a loaf of bread would be #1.58."Petrol companies and the Government could be heartened, however, by a new survey showing fewer than one in 10 motorists would ditch the car even if the price of petrol more than doubled to #2 a litre.

Two in five would not part with their motor for anything, the survey for the Churchill Insurance company found, while more than three in four motorists used their cars every day.

The Liberal Democrats joined the debate over fuel prices by calling for a five-year freeze in petrol tax rises.

In a new transport policy document to go to their September conference, the party pledged to cap the level of fuel taxes in real terms for five years.

They called for a sliding-scale car tax linked to carbon-dioxide emissions, so that owners of polluting gas-guzzlers pay higher rates of Vehicle Excise Duty while those with the most environmentally-friendly vehicles pay nothing.

And they also said there should be support for transport of all kinds in country areas, including aid to keep open rural petrol stations.

Don Foster MP, Liberal Democrat spokesman on the environment, transport and the regions, said this was a far better approach than cuts in fuel duties being called for by the Dump-the-Pump campaign.

http://denver.petroleumplace.com/egatecom/scream/2000/07/31/eng-belfasttelegragh/eng-belfasttelegragh_083657_170_811565755866.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 31, 2000

Answers

British fuel price campaign follows protests in Europe July 31, 2000 Web posted at: 8:34 p.m. EDT (0034 GMT)

LONDON (CNN) - The campaign for a boycott of petrol stations in Britain comes just weeks after motorists in Spain took to the streets to vent their anger over spiraling fuel costs.

Truck drivers and farmers marched through Madrid in June demanding a cut in fuel taxes. Petrol prices there have increased by almost 90 percent in 18 months and some service station proprietors have threatened to close their businesses for a day a month until the government acts.

But oil companies and retailers claim similar protests aimed at pressuring governments and the oil industry to relieve fuel costs for motorists, such as a three-day boycott in parts of Europe in April, have met with little success, with sales remaining largely unaffected.

BP spokeswoman Barbara Peen said the company will not be taking any action in preparation for Britain's August 1 protest. "The consumers are being urged to defer buying their petrol, they're not stopping their purchases," she said.

The organizer of Britain's "Dump the Pump" day, Stephen Campbell, concedes: "It is a symbolic protest. Of course people will fill their cars up the day before and the day after because we all use them, but if it makes the government sit up and take notice we will have achieved our aims."

The British Automobile Association, a persistent campaigner for lower fuel costs, believes such action is pointless. "Perhaps there is a psychological effect," said spokesman Michael Johnson, "but on a practical level, it's not going to do a thing."

The boycotts in Europe stem from similar action in the United States and Australasia.

A "Gas Out" campaign in 1999, urging Americans and Canadians to put off their petrol purchases for a day, formed the beginning of the latest series of consumer petrol strikes.

It generated a keen following on the Internet and won the support of some consumer groups. An anonymous chain e-mail extended the idea to Australia, New Zealand, Asia and South Africa before reaching countries in Europe.

In South America, Bolivian roads were brought to a standstill in early July as truck and bus drivers vented their frustration at spiraling costs. Despite President Hugo Banzer's promise to freeze prices for a year, police were required to break up the roadblocks.

University students and city workers in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta appealed for relief from rising fuel costs in street demonstrations in April.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/07/31/euro.fuel.history/index.htm l

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 31, 2000.