ok, i keep hearing about this mythical 5p rebate the chancellor has apparently given to motorists - i can't see how or where that has been passed on as the price of fuel just seems to have gone up - there's not been any noticable drop. got my thinking about how/ why the rebate is calculated and if its even the right amount. quick fag packet maths; fuel at the start of the year was about 145 a litre, duty at 35% means chancellor gets 50p for every litre. fuel now at 200 ish, 35% duty means he's getting c70p for each litre, means he could potentially give back 20p per litre and still take the same cash amount as in january? same for vat - that would work out at 9p he could give back and still take the same £ amount in revenue. so.. i think he could easily give ~30p per litre and the treasury would be no worse off. why isn't he doing this??
The 5p rebate is a token gesture to make it look like he is feeling some of your pain Rob. Approximately half the cost of a litre of fuel goes to the government as vat and fuel duty.
It's not just the Duty that is criminal, the petro chem companies are raking it in. There isn't a shortage of fuel, just a preceived shortage. I'm all for road blocks and direct action because the government won't force the hand of the likes of Esso/Shell/BP. Cut the Duty and cut the profit. Note that the actual forecourts aren't getting much of the cut but I can bet the staff are the ones getting the most abuse.
Another problem is, now that fuel has reached this extortionate price it will never go down long term.... it will only ever go up!...... they have us over a barrel (pun intended)!
Both Shell Petrol Stations at Huthwaite near J28 / M1 have put the petrol prices up from 178.9 to 186.9 overnight (last wednesday > Thursday morn). It used to be heaving at teatime on a workday, very few use them now.
Duty is not a percentage but a fixed amount per litre (I think it's about 55p). THEN you pay VAT on the price per litre (including on the previously added duty). [Rant-mode on] Paying tax on tax is tantamount to theft. And, IMO, VAT is a scam, it was originally brought in as a way to raise money from the affluent, buying things they didn't need but could afford. And back then it was only something like 5%.
This. The government aren’t going to do anything meaningful, as the will be getting “donations “ from the oil companies, so they are doing very nicely out of it. And then they stitch us up again by paying themselves travel expenses out of our many taxes, so they really don’t care if petrol was £10 a litre… And all we do is moan about a bit, then go and fill our tanks before the next price rise in the morning… It’s time for a Revolution I tell you!
How many of use far more than strictly necessary? I know I have a lot of time on my hands but honestly I've only used 1/2 tank in the past 2 1/2 years. + a tankful Dunc has burned driving it to his workshop and back. 5 mile round trip to Tesco? It is possible to walk with a rucksack and a couple of bags - painful at first though! Etc. I realise if you work it's harder - time and all that, but how much of it do we waste in front of a TV anyway? I feel a radical change of life perception is coming for the masses. Yep - it's being forced on us by high fuel/elec/gas prices but make no mistake, this deliberate policy is sneaking up on us. The main problem with people using less fuel is a drop in tax intake but if the price goes up - hey-presto, problem solved.
I generally agree. I am lucky in that while I still work full-time, my office is walkable or cycle-able (well at the moment I still work from home but hey). However, I think with the other issues of congestion, pollution, poor road surface quality, added on to the fuel costs, I can only think it's going to encourage people to work and 'live' closer to home, potentially helping to shrink the economy as more people tighten their belts because of choosing to take lower-paid, but closer-to-home jobs.
Commuting wastes a lot of time too. I remember commuting from Ely to Cambridge, about 15 miles. Even back when the roads were fairly clear that was a working day a week. Now it's tailback the whole way, probably more like 2 extra days per week. It's madness really. Then I started working from home and used that day to actually earn money so I gained that + saved fuel plus wear and tear. Win win. Friend of mine owned a marketing software company and he's employ ex-London commuters who were quite happy to take a £10-15K pay cut to save the cost and time commuting. Norman Tebbit/Thatcher have a lot to answer for. They destroyed community life and encouraged the house price inflation/commuting madness to encompass the whole country.
There is a noticeable drop in vehicles on the road and cars seem to be going a bit slower. Went this afternoon to Sainsburys petrol station which is normally very busy and it was quiet with only 2 cars there. Prices will drop as demand drops and the oil price comes down. I am retired but I have noticed the young working neighbours mostly work at home now and use their cars much less. which is a good thing. And they walk and cycle more which is also a good thing.
i use way less fuel than i used to pre-covid. I used to be in the office most days, 110 mile round trip, 2 hours in the car ~ 30k miles or so every year, 250 ish a month on diesel. i now go into the office maybe once or twice a week (or not at all if i can) and work from my home office instead. One tank of fuel does me for a whole month now give or take, so even though fuel's gone up loads i'm still actually spending only a fraction of what i used to. gas and electric though- that's a different matter - its doubled
I’d have agreed until about a month ago. I do a 400 mile round trip to the office. Until last month traffic had never really picked up after covid. It’s now back with a vengeance unfortunately. The average speed seems to have reduced though.
I had a larf at Membury services. Seeing the forecourt prices between 185 and 195p going around last weekend, I guessed they would be asking about 230p at the motorway services. No, it was "only" 199.9p. Cowards !
Might be nearer than you thought...... https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/20205906.severn-bridges-fuel-protest-planned/
I was thinking more of proper Revolution… overthrow the government, slap the energy companies about a bit kind of thing …
That won't go ahead. In order to get to the protest area, they will have to fill up at £2.00 a litre.
