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Ananova :



Petrol price 'to soar by 6p a litre'

Petrol prices could jump by 6p a litre after the General Election, according to an oil industry expert.

Motorists will bear the brunt of expected cutbacks in production due to be agreed by the Opec cartel on June 5-6, Professor Andrew Oswald from Warwick University said.

A spokesman for the AA urged the Government to cut fuel tax, adding that a rise would push petrol prices through the "pain threshold" of 80p a litre.

Professor Oswald said: "We could have severe upward pressure during the next year. Currently, oil is priced at $30 (£21) a barrel.

"If this rises to 40 US dollars, which is quite possible, then there will probably be a significant rise of at least 6p a litre for unleaded."

AA spokesman Richard Freeman said of the possible 80p per litre level: "That is the psychological barrier, the point where people really start to take notice and get angry.

"Prices normally rise in the summer because of American and European drivers increasing demand by taking their cars on holiday. This year, however, there will be far greater public attention focused on any increases.

"The UK has Europe's cheapest petrol before tax and Europe's most expensive petrol after tax. It's time for the Government to de-escalate the cost of fuel."

Last updated: 10:11 Monday 28th May 2001

....and confirming the point that any cut is likely to be absorbed into oil company profits?

So U admit Willie WILL WIN Then............



See Ur M8 Browns' on the run, WHY ???
Lies lies & More Lies, SORRY SPIN
Go see what Opec have to say

Typical Labour Paper, We got this YESTERDAY.


TUESDAY, 29 MAY, 2001

DRIVERS WARNED OF £4 GALLON


DRIVERS were warned yesterday they could be forking out £4 for a gallon after the election.

A litre of unleaded is set to rise by 6p to 87p, according to experts.

They claim the Opec oil-producing countries will rule out production increases - and may even order cuts - at a meeting on June 5.

Firms like Shell and BP are also thought to be planning hikes after holding prices in the election run-up to avoid hurting the Government - who could hit back with a windfall tax.

But yesterday Chancellor Gordon Brown claimed oil production was RISING - and defended his record.

He said: "This Government has removed the petrol and diesel escalator, cut duty in the Budget, and lowered the cost of the licence fee for cars and lorries."

But the AA stormed: "We have Europe's cheapest petrol before tax and the most expensive petrol after tax."


Why it's torture
at the pumps


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By IAN KING
Business Editor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THERE are several reasons why a hike in fuel prices is inevitable.

Firstly, oil costs are rising everywhere, particularly in the US - the world's biggest importer.

An energy crisis has prompted many Americans to switch to oil from other power sources. And millions are about to take to the roads for the summer "driving season".

Secondly, Opec, the cartel of oil producing countries, is being urged NOT to pump more by anti-American members.

Arab states like Qatar want to force America to persuade Israel to resume peace talks. Iraq is threatening to CUT supplies over sanctions.

The third reason for a petrol hike is that the likes of BP and Shell desperately want one.

They are currently holding down prices. BP says it loses money on every gallon sold. The oil giants cannot tolerate this for long.

In the meantime, independent petrol stations who cannot afford to keep prices low are going out of business at a rate of two every day.

...I am going to convert my car to LPG. At 35 - 40p a litre frozen until 2004 it is the only way to get around the price rises brought about by the OPEC stranglehold on oil and the governments obsession with fuel tax.
I'm lucky enough to have a gas supplier 1/2 mile down the road and a friend with the right contacts. So, in about a years time the installation costs will have been paid for in saved money from buying LPG instead of petrol. And I'll be producing next to no pollutants.
Hmmm, all of a sudden I feel a warm glow, and it's not the whisky!!!!

....firm evidence that the policy of High Fuel Duty is changing the behaviour of the average motorist....a LFTS one at at that.

...but you see Funkii, I 've always had an eye for cheap motoring costs.
I ran a diesel when diesel was cheaper than petrol. When the cost of diesel outstripped petrol I changed to a petrol car, even though I lost mpg through it.(It was time for a new car). This was due to the lies and false facts being put about by so called official bodies in an attempt to blame all the pollution problems on the diesel car. I predicted that this would happen.
So, the time has come to try and beat the government again. I'm not changing sides. I still believe that fuel tax is outrageously high, I'm just trying to be sensible about it.
If I had the choice which fuel to use I would still opt for diesel, for all the reasons you would probably try to discredit. Our 2nd car is still diesel. I believe diesel to be the way forward, especially the development in bio-diesel. But this government will still tax it to the hilt.
I will not benefit from any reduction in road tax nor will I get a grant to convert my car, as the standards for these are too restrictive. I should be encouraged to use a better fuel, but I'm not. Apart from the freeze on LPG until 2004. So I'll be out of pocket to the tune of £1000 approximately. But I will get that back eventually in reduced fuel costs.
But don't misread my conversion as a victory for the HFTS or NotLabour.
It's just a simple case of economics.




Slainte
WhiskyBob

Never a truer word spoken.

Pity some of the other LFTS don't seem to able to work this one out

Yes.

I cannot afford a new car.

I cannot afford the £1000? to convert my existing car to LPG.

It doesn't get any more simple than that!

...the economic reality is that one day you will.

If more people like WB apply the same logic and convert to LPG - as a result of the policy of High Fuel Duty - then LPG will become more common. You will be able to buy a secondhand car already converted to LPG and so on.

OK, it won't happen overnight but Rome wasn't built in a day.

You'll have us reaching 4 our hankie's next > what a load of crap. 2nd hand LPG car ?? Until he taxes that too ? CUMMON.......... Next you'll be suggesting we get cycles to use while we wait.

AND I can't convert my Diesel car, or my daughter's
OR my MERC.

... I think the LPG thing is only going to be of a benefit in the short term. Only people who can afford to buy/convert now will see any real advantage.

By the time any secondhand ones come onto the market, (well, secondhand enough to fall into my price range) enough people will have converted, therefore be commited to it, that the government will "discover" that it really isn't that good for the enviroment, and will whack on a massive tax!

Cynical? Thats exactly what they did with Diesel.

I was being idealistic you were being cynical.

Firstly, how do you expect people to switch to an alternative like LPG if you make the price of petrol more competitive? No-one would bother if petrol was taxed less - why should they?

As for tax arrangements in the future - how should I know? If we found ways to cut congestion, improve public transport and make cars more environmentally friendly, I wouldn't support measures to load taxes on them.

I suppose what I was also trying to say is that because of high fuel duty, WB had changed his behaviour - he decided to switch to LPG. By the same token, other people may have decided to use their cars less. I was putting forward the point that WB's decision was evidence that the tax can have the positive effect that was intended.

Why do you try and put the cart before the horse?

It's like the other argument. People complain that Public Transport is rubbish - they want improvements and then, they say, they'll use their cars less. But how can we afford the investment needed to pay for better services by slashing fuel duty which has the effect of making motoring cheaper and more attractive and also cutting the amount of revenue available to spend on public transport.

Before you get me lynched.....
"I suppose what I was also trying to say is that because of high fuel duty, WB had changed his behaviour - he decided to switch to LPG. By the same token, other people may have decided to use their cars less. I was putting forward the point that WB's decision was evidence that the tax can have the positive effect that was intended."It is the fact that LPG is only 35-40p a litre that is making me think about it. If petrol/diesel was that price (as it should be ) I wouldn't need or want to convert.

The £1000+ I'd have to spend would be put to far better things. As I said, there is no incentive for owners of cars older than 1 year to convert to LPG. I still need to buy petrol as you need it to start the car before switching over to LPG. I would have to use petrol when I travel north as the LPG suppliers are a bit thin on the ground. It would only be of real environmental benefit for my journeys to and from work and local trips.

But believe me, if the price of fuel does exceed £4 a gallon or get up to £6, as is rumoured after the election, then it will be a certainty I will be gas powered. Also I hope to transfer the system to my next car when the time comes, so sorry Gaz the second hand market for LPG motors will be a little sparse!!!




Slainte
WhiskyBob

I'm not trying to turn the other LFTS against you (I don't think they would anyway) - I just spotted an oppurtunity to make a reasonable point about using taxes to alter peoples's behaviour.

I'll keep schtum on this one from now on!