Gridlock Over Gas Prices

Life Creeps Along as Price Protests Seize Britain


By Lucrezia Cuen

L O N D O N, Sept. 13 — Driving the fuel tax protest home, convoys of
truck drivers forced London and other parts of Britain to a near
standstill today.
In Britain, high oil prices have caused unrest.
Hundreds of truck drivers moved their demonstrations to the capital,
blocking main thoroughfares into and around the city with go-slow
protests. Many of the city’s residents chose to avoid the crush and skip
work.
Although some fuel delivery trucks have been allowed to distribute
gasoline (or petrol, as it’s called here), most British gas stations
remain closed as the fuel tax protest grows. Some fuel truck drivers have
crossed demonstration lines to join protesters and refused to make
deliveries.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Automobile Association said: “We are
advising motorists to stay away from the center of London as we are
forecasting that demonstrations will gridlock much of London.”

Government Takes a Hard Line

Despite a vow by Prime Minister Tony Blair to break the blockade, the
protest showed no signs of abating today. Blair has invoked emergency
powers bringing in police to escort fuel deliveries.
Panic buying over the past two days emptied more than half of the
nation’s pumps after a rise in fuel costs in Britain pushed prices to
around $5 a gallon — more than 80 percent of which is tax.
Ambulances and fire services have begun cutting back services and
some schools have closed. Hospitals are canceling all but essential
procedures.
The Royal Mail says its delivery trucks had only a day’s worth of
fuel left.
In an indication of widespread support for the protest a poll
conducted by Britain’s GMTV found more than two-thirds of Britons think
the blockades of gasoline refineries and depots should continue.
The poll follows a GMTV telephone poll on Tuesday, when 98 percent of
the 32,500 callers said the government should reduce the price of
gasoline.

Europe Fuming Over Fuel Costs

The fight over the high price of gasoline is paralyzing traffic across
Europe.
Powerful German trade unions indicated they plan to start a protest
Thursday targeting not only the gas pumps or refineries, but the depots of
major supermarkets — leaving shelves across the country empty.
In Belgium, trucks blocked the center of Brussels for the fourth day.
In the Netherlands, commuters faced another frustrating morning as
truckers staged slow-downs down all the main motorways.
Protests are also threatened in Spain and Ireland.

Skyrocketing Fuel Costs

Rising world oil prices paired with a fall in European currency have lead
to the price inflation. Crude oil hit a 10-year high of $35 last week.
A gallon of gas in Britain is running near $5 a gallon, the highest
in Europe. Fuel scalpers are reportedly selling gas for up to $14 a
gallon.
Under pressure to reduce oil prices, the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed this past weekend to raise oil supply
by 800,000 barrels per day.
However, OPEC also expressed dismay that consumer countries did not
recognize the role of higher taxes in pushing oil prices higher.

Britons Bite Back

LONDON, Sept. 13 — The British are terrible at complaining. It’s not
their nature; stiff upper lip, and all.
In fact, their stoic propensity to grin and bear it is a matter
of national pride, a virtue that saw its finest hour during the
bombardment of London in World War II and the postwar depression
with its shortages and rationing. To complain was more than
unbecoming, it was downright unpatriotic.
So it comes as a surprise to many watching events unfolding
over the current fuel prices that demonstrations have escalated so
dramatically.
Truckers and gentlemen farmers, as they like to call
themselves, holding peaceful protests, blockading oil refineries,
bringing the country to its knees. They’re making it clear they are
fed up with paying the highest prices in Europe for fuel — close to
$5 a gallon.
“What’s different is these are small businessmen,” says Rodney
Baker, a political science professor at the London School of
Economics. “Historically, they would never protest in public, that
would be considered vulgar. But the old rules are changing.”
And apparently, based on public opinion polls, the silent
majority supports the change even as it suffers through the fuel
shortages.
A poll conducted by Britain’s GMTV found more than two-thirds
of the nation is behind the protesters, with 98 percent saying the
government should reduce the price of petrol.
The British have discovered they pay more than their European
neighbors for almost everything — fuel, automobiles, and most
consumer products — and they have started grumbling.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s “Cool Britannia” has been dubbed
“Cruel Britannia” by the disgruntled masses.
“Rip-off Britain” Web sites have popped up where British
consumers can post their complaints and price comparisons.
The current protests over fuel tax may be an indication that
the middle classes are becoming more willing to stand up and say “we
aren’t going to take it anymore.”
“We have nothing to lose,” said one farmer on the picket line.
“Many of us have nothing to go home to, we are being driven to
bankruptcy.”

— Lucrezia Cuen, ABCNEWS.com

Back