Remember 2000?

[brendy]

I think that those of us who are using less efficient/more smiles per gallon motors are using more fuel and paying more as a result. I dont think it would be fair to say that we should pay more per litre just because. Road tax/duty looks after that argument.

 

[JustOne]

I chose to drive a "guzzler",

Too bad. I don't understand your complaint.

If I choose to smoke should I whinge when the prices go up? Would you care about my whinge whatsoever?

 

[Slicer30]

The strike has nothing to do with the price of fuel. It's about very well paid (~£45k) drivers being cajolled by bully boy union leaders (on over £100k) into striking over "working conditions" although this is really just a smokescreen for getting better pay.

They should all just be sacked and new folk re-trained who actually appreciate a good salary. Reagan did this with the air traffic controllers, sacked the lot of them, and they haven't striked again in 40 years

Yep - just read a few articles and have to agree. In 2000 it was lorry drivers and Farmers who caused the fuel blockade. These guys seem to be striking over conditions and pay rather than the price of fuel - oh and the safety of the public according to one unite spokesperson .

 

[brendy]

Too bad. I don't understand your complaint.

If I choose to smoke should I whinge when the prices go up? Would you care about my whinge whatsoever?

Im not complaining about my MPG, I dont like the fact it has doubled in price as it has driven the cost of living up also.

 

[USER1999]

Got to admit you are spot on with that Brendy!

I just have it in for the top end cars that do 6-15mpg! I couldn't agree more that people with relatively efficient cars who look after them should be rewarded for their choice. Taxing fuel is pretty inefficient at doing that as people with those cars can do lots of mileage and be hurt a lot! What is needed is to sway people away from inefficient cars and STRONGLY towards the more efficient.
?

I don't get this.

If everyone in the uk walked to work, in their hair shirt, what would it achieve?

Fuel in china is 75 pence a litre. They are burning it for fun. They are pouring black smoke out of their factories every day, pollution so bad that you can't see more then 100 yards. They are opening a new coal fired power station every week.

Whilst we think we can save the planet by getting another 5 mpg?

 

[ScienceBoy]

I don't get this.

If everyone in the uk walked to work, in their hair shirt, what would it achieve?

Fuel in china is 75 pence a litre. They are burning it for fun. They are pouring black smoke out of their factories every day, pollution so bad that you can't see more then 100 yards. They are opening a new coal fired power station every week.

Whilst we think we can save the planet by getting another 5 mpg?

Don't get me started on other countries, I do agree, it is a global problem not just the UK but you have to start somewhere.

 

[Crawfy]

Apparently they're training the army to deliver the fuel. Like they've got nothing better to do.

Ironic that the Army who were sent to the Gulf to fight, are then delivering the oil....

 

[sydney greenstreet]

Remember the fuel tankers strike and the garages running out of fuel?

Fill up your jerry cans soon if I were you.

But remember if you keep the jerry cans in your house your Home Insurance becomes void, if you keep it in the garage it is Illegal to store over 20 litres of Petrol/Diesel.

 

[birdieman]

Not sure getting rid of gas guzzlers will do any good, the treasury depend heavily on the tax from fuel so surely if we all drove 1.1 fiestas although there would be a great reduction in fuel consumption the treasury will still need the same revenue to keep the economy going so they would have to hike fuel prices even higher to generate the required revenue. The spend to keep building and maintaining roads and to contribute to the economy in general is required whatever the cost of fuel and that needs paid for. With the current massive deficit the govt cant afford any kind of tax breaks without taxing something else to make up the difference. We're stuck with a crappy economic situation for at least 15 years apparently.

 

[SS2]

Arguments about MPG, gas guzzlers and tax aside, this whole thing is just a big political game. The coalition have deliberately taken the "there is no problem but there might be one in the future but no need to panic" line. Which of course causes all the lemmings in society to panic.

Then Cameron et al can put pressure on Miliband to denounce the proposed strike. Miliband can't do this as the union behind the strike proposals pay a third of Labour's money.

Politics: it's just a big game, that is all.

Far more important is the news that Wikipedia's page on Ed Balls shows that his four kids are called Ellie, Joe, Maddy and "Dicken". That's real political intrigue for you.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

I just have it in for the top end cars that do 6-15mpg!

Any car can do that if you drive like a knob.

My car has gone to Inverness and back on a single tank full, but I've also used a whole tank full in 75 miles at Knockhill.

The number of cars that do very low teens MPG are so few and far between that the difference they make to the environment / economy is the square root of bugger all.

Even the 6 litre V8 in a Monaro can do 30mpg on a run.

'Gas guzzlers' is a term used in Goverment propaganda to justify a 70% fuel duty. And the UK population are falling for it.

 

[sweatysock41]

If I remember rightly the Fuel Tax actually introduced by John Major's government was supposed to encourage us all onto public transport and stop the increase of car usage. Achieved that aim didn't it.

Every tax applied to travel (Fuel Duty, Air Passenger Duty etc) is supposed to encourage us to not use transport as much and save the planet - what a load of tosh. They are just another revenue earner for the exchequer.

 

[Imurg]

It's getting stupid around here.
Queues at every forecourt - and they haven't even called a strike yet.
This country is populated by Sheep...

And as soon as there is a strike and the fuel runs out - I'm buggered. Can't exactly walk to work.....
Still, I can leave my clubs at the course, get the bike out and cycle to the club and play golf all day.

 

[Monty_Brown]

I agree with SS2 that the government's response to this is politically motivated.

They knew full well that suggesting people top up their tanks would cause a panic (that's the stupidity of mob mentality for you) and would lead to scenes of queues at forecourts, swiftly followed by signs saying "no more fuel"

The result is that the government turns public opinion against the strikers, giving them free rein to smash the union.

 

[Rooter]

Good excuse to stay home and walk to my local course! Gutted my car can do almost 1000 miles to a tank and it's pretty much full...

 

[StrangelyBrown]

The cynic in me thinks that the gubbermint told people to stock up so they can fill their coffers before the end of the financial year...