That penny off petrol...

Let's see if we can cut through the bullshit about petrol duty by taking an objective look at the pros and cons of Boy George's duty cut...

There's been a lot of hoo-hah about petrol stations putting up the cost of fuel on Wednesday morning just so they could put it down again in the afternoon and pocket the penny a litre. The retailers quite reasonably say that the 1p cut in duty won't actually be passed on untill they get their next delivery, because they already paid the 1p on the stock in their tanks. This is a perfectly reasonable argument.

However, this should mean that over the next few days prices start to come down. Call me a cycnic, but I will believe it when I see it.

And whilst we are on this subject, there is VAT on this duty at 20% so we should see prices go down by 1.2p per litre. Anyone like to place a bet on how many petrol stations will be displaying .7 instead of .9 at the end of their prices? Do let me know if you spot one.

Osbourne says he has cut duty by 6p a litre. Well sorry, George, but that's rubbish. You cannot claim that cancelling Labour's extra penny and not implementing the 4p escalator - for which, incidentally, the statutory requirement was abolished many years ago - is a cut. On that basis, I've cut the sale price of my car by £1,000 because I was going to ask £1,000 more. If you haven't added it yet, then not adding it is a fair point, but claiming it as a cut is arrant nonsense.

The retailers claim that the increase Wednesday morning was a coincidence because wholesale prices had risen anyway. I don't buy that. It's profiteering. It's treating us as mugs. Just like the energy companies, petrol retailers are quick to increase prices when the costs go up and slow to drop them when the costs go down. We fall for it every time because, frankly, we have no choice.

But with petrol we do. Some time ago there was a campaign to boycott the largest suppliers and force them to lower their prices. I think this is a good idea. Let's pick one - say, BP - and see what happens when their forecourts are empty.

I'd like to think this would work, but I expect that the great British public will do what they always do - go down the pub for a pint and a good moan...

That penny off petrol...

Let's see if we can cut through the bullshit about petrol duty by taking an objective look at the pros and cons of Boy George's duty cut...

There's been a lot of hoo-hah about petrol stations putting up the cost of fuel on Wednesday morning just so they could put it down again in the afternoon and pocket the penny a litre. The retailers quite reasonably say that the 1p cut in duty won't actually be passed on untill they get their next delivery, because they already paid the 1p on the stock in their tanks. This is a perfectly reasonable argument.

However, this should mean that over the next few days prices start to come down. Call me a cycnic, but I will believe it when I see it.

And whilst we are on this subject, there is VAT on this duty at 20% so we should see prices go down by 1.2p per litre. Anyone like to place a bet on how many petrol stations will be displaying .7 instead of .9 at the end of their prices? Do let me know if you spot one.

Osbourne says he has cut duty by 6p a litre. Well sorry, George, but that's rubbish. You cannot claim that cancelling Labour's extra penny and not implementing the 4p escalator - for which, incidentally, the statutory requirement was abolished many years ago - is a cut. On that basis, I've cut the sale price of my car by £1,000 because I was going to ask £1,000 more. If you haven't added it yet, then not adding it is a fair point, but claiming it as a cut is arrant nonsense.

The retailers claim that the increase Wednesday morning was a coincidence because wholesale prices had risen anyway. I don't buy that. It's profiteering. It's treating us as mugs. Just like the energy companies, petrol retailers are quick to increase prices when the costs go up and slow to drop them when the costs go down. We fall for it every time because, frankly, we have no choice.

But with petrol we do. Some time ago there was a campaign to boycott the largest suppliers and force them to lower their prices. I think this is a good idea. Let's pick one - say, BP - and see what happens when their forecourts are empty.

I'd like to think this would work, but I expect that the great British public will do what they always do - go down the pub for a pint and a good moan...

At last! A policy all the parties agree on...

The three main parties leaders issued a joint statement today having agreed to introduce a new 'Gravity Offset Levy" in the next Parliament

The leaders shake hands on their historic agreement
while demonstrating first hand the effects of their policy

A Bill will be introduced in the next Parliament which will prove that the UK leads the world in tackling environmental problems.

The statement said "We have complete cross party agreement to introduce a new Gravity Offset Levy which will enable the UK to reduce its gravity by 10% in real terms. Reducing our gravity in this way will have the following immediate beneficial effects :

• Vehicle pollution will be reduced as everyone knows that lighter vehicles use less fuel. This will also apply to aircraft and diesel railway engines.
• Lower fuel consumption also addresses the growing unrest over petrol prices
• Wind turbines will spin faster as the blades will weigh less, thus improving their generating efficiency
• Everyone will be fitter as less effort will be required to walk, run and lift things
• Our newborn children will be less obese, as they will grow taller and thinner
• Our cricket team will win more matches as they will be able to hit the ball further
• Productivity will improve as everyday tasks will require less effort

And all this can be achieved with a modest per house levy of only £5,000 per annum which will be automatically added to Council Tax bills. It will enable us to half the National Debt within the lifetime of the next Parliament without us having to make any cuts in public spending."

Gordon Brown commented, "This is such an obvious new tax that I cannot believe I never thought of it before" whilst David Cameron added, "It's a fair tax as it effects everyone equally and everyone gets the same benefit."

For the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg added "It's not a new idea. We proposed it in our last manifesto but we are pleased the other main parties have finally adopted it."

Of course, not everyone is happy. The Green Party dismissed it as just another stealth tax masquerading as environmentalism, and Weight Watchers complained it would ruin their business.

At last! A policy all the parties agree on...

The three main parties leaders issued a joint statement today having agreed to introduce a new 'Gravity Offset Levy" in the next Parliament

The leaders shake hands on their historic agreement
while demonstrating first hand the effects of their policy

A Bill will be introduced in the next Parliament which will prove that the UK leads the world in tackling environmental problems.

The statement said "We have complete cross party agreement to introduce a new Gravity Offset Levy which will enable the UK to reduce its gravity by 10% in real terms. Reducing our gravity in this way will have the following immediate beneficial effects :

• Vehicle pollution will be reduced as everyone knows that lighter vehicles use less fuel. This will also apply to aircraft and diesel railway engines.
• Lower fuel consumption also addresses the growing unrest over petrol prices
• Wind turbines will spin faster as the blades will weigh less, thus improving their generating efficiency
• Everyone will be fitter as less effort will be required to walk, run and lift things
• Our newborn children will be less obese, as they will grow taller and thinner
• Our cricket team will win more matches as they will be able to hit the ball further
• Productivity will improve as everyday tasks will require less effort

And all this can be achieved with a modest per house levy of only £5,000 per annum which will be automatically added to Council Tax bills. It will enable us to half the National Debt within the lifetime of the next Parliament without us having to make any cuts in public spending."

Gordon Brown commented, "This is such an obvious new tax that I cannot believe I never thought of it before" whilst David Cameron added, "It's a fair tax as it effects everyone equally and everyone gets the same benefit."

For the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg added "It's not a new idea. We proposed it in our last manifesto but we are pleased the other main parties have finally adopted it."

Of course, not everyone is happy. The Green Party dismissed it as just another stealth tax masquerading as environmentalism, and Weight Watchers complained it would ruin their business.

Why petrol prices are so high

Today, petrol prices at the pump hit £1.20 a litre with a warning that it might hit £1.50 this summer.

Much has been said about the reasons for this, but here is the truth behind the main ones :

(1) Exchange rates : "The pound used to be as high as $2, but now its only $1.50" - True in it's own way, but not so long ago it was down to $1.15, so if the rate has improved, why have prices still gone up?

(2) The price of crude oil : "Brent crude is at a high of $86 a barrel" - Also true, but it used to be over $150 a barrel and prices weren't this high.

Strangely enough, one of the main contributing factors never seems to get mentioned : Tax.

In the last twelve months, Alistair Darling has added 6p a litre to your petrol bill - and that's without the extra 2p he's had to postpone until later this year in case it loses votes.

And, of course, let's not forget that there is VAT on top of those increases - so that's another penny....

Why petrol prices are so high

Today, petrol prices at the pump hit £1.20 a litre with a warning that it might hit £1.50 this summer.

Much has been said about the reasons for this, but here is the truth behind the main ones :

(1) Exchange rates : "The pound used to be as high as $2, but now its only $1.50" - True in it's own way, but not so long ago it was down to $1.15, so if the rate has improved, why have prices still gone up?

(2) The price of crude oil : "Brent crude is at a high of $86 a barrel" - Also true, but it used to be over $150 a barrel and prices weren't this high.

Strangely enough, one of the main contributing factors never seems to get mentioned : Tax.

In the last twelve months, Alistair Darling has added 6p a litre to your petrol bill - and that's without the extra 2p he's had to postpone until later this year in case it loses votes.

And, of course, let's not forget that there is VAT on top of those increases - so that's another penny....