Petrol Prices - Are they to high - What can we do about it.

[kinboshi]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

Is the right answer.

[TightEnd]

Or that. Of course the government has finite resources from which to fund its obligations. I don't think either major party, given the global economic background and the likelihood of lower revenues on a 24 month view, will be rushing to reduce indirect taxes.

[tikay]

Quoted from a group on Facebook

Take the time to at least read this, then, see what you think and pass it on if you agree with it.
We are hitting 106.9 p a litre in some areas now, soon we will be faced with paying £1.10 a litre.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain
day campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil
companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't
continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more
of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can
really work.
Please read it and join in!
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned
us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take
aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the market
place not sellers. With the price of petrol going up more each
day, we consumers need to take
action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come
down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their
Petrol! We can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two
biggest oil companies (which now are one), ESSO and BP.
If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to
reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other
companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need
to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's
really simple to do!!
Now, don't wimp out on me at this point... keep reading and I'll
explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to a lot of people. If each of you send it
to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to
at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, until we reach around THREE MILLION consumers!
Again, all You have to do is send this to 10 people. That's
all.(and not buy at ESSO/BP)

Invite ten more people to this group within one day of joining, all 3 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next
8days!!! Acting together we can make a difference If this makes
sense to you, please pass this message on.
PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE 69p a LITRE
RANGE
It's easy to make this happen. Just invite your friends, and buy
your petrol at Asda,Tesco, Morrisons Jet etc.
i.e. boycott BP, Shell and Esso (and Sainsburys)would this work

And who exactly supplies Asda, Morrisions, & Tesco with Fuel? Correct. BP, Esso, Shell. As protests go, it's as blunt as a blunt thing.

I think we should worry less about the price of petrol - it's just money, & a luxury - & more about some of the dreadful World-disasters of the last month.

During the aftermath of the Burma Cyclone, the Daily Express & Daily Mail Headlines were about the £10 Tax affair & Gordon Brown. As sick as sick gets.

[kinboshi]

Yes, petrol sells for more than it ever has, yet independent petrol stations can't afford to stay open and are closing at an ever increasing rate.

avg margin on retail petrol sales is around the 1p/l mark. when I was running garages selling 7,000 l/daythe fuel sales didn't provide enough profit to cover wages for a single cashier on min wage. the only reason to run a petrol forecourt nowadays is to attract footfall through your shop.

Why does BP charge 120p a litre near me, when Sainsbury's (using BP fuels) only charge 110p a litre?

(I say only, but it's relative)

[TightEnd]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

Is the right answer.

Its a huge disincentive to enterprise though.

Now where's that Swiss Chataeu brochure I was sent in 2003?

[Ironside]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

not spending 67 billion on updating Trident?

if they cut back on that i am off to france

[TightEnd]

Yes, petrol sells for more than it ever has, yet independent petrol stations can't afford to stay open and are closing at an ever increasing rate.

avg margin on retail petrol sales is around the 1p/l mark. when I was running garages selling 7,000 l/daythe fuel sales didn't provide enough profit to cover wages for a single cashier on min wage. the only reason to run a petrol forecourt nowadays is to attract footfall through your shop.

Why does BP charge 120p a litre near me, when Sainsbury's (using BP fuels) only charge 110p a litre?

(I say only, but it's relative)

Sainsbury's are loss leading. They accept a loss on petrol in the hope of getting more footfall through the shops

[ifm]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

Less overseas aid, concessions to the EU (we pay billions more than the French for example), stricter benefit systems/NH qualification criteria, reduce mp's pay, pull our troops out of Afganistan  etc. etc.
Just because Brown and his cronies tell you we need the taxation for home services doesn't make it true.

[tikay]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

not spending 67 billion on updating Trident?

if they cut back on that i am off to france

Promise?

[TightEnd]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

Less overseas aid, concessions to the EU (we pay billions more than the French for example), stricter benefit systems/NH qualification criteria, reduce mp's pay, pull our troops out of Afganistan  etc. etc.
Just because Brown and his cronies tell you we need the taxation for home services doesn't make it true.

sure, but again there is a finite resource and a list of obligations. I repeat neither major party will easily cut indirect tax. Of course I am no fan of this government either.

[Eck]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

not spending 67 billion on updating Trident?

if they cut back on that i am off to france

Now that's what I call getting value for your money

[boldie]

Tax aside the global price of a barrel is now $125 (brent) Its doubled over the period of this graph.

Retail margins are v v thin, but the squeeze on consumers is now so intense (rising costs, falling growth) that this stagflation I beleive will lead to social unrest.

Why is petrol and diesel so much cheaper in Luxembourg?

Because they are not taxed to the extremes that we are, i hate to say it but we should do what the Frenchies are doing and force this poxy government into giving us a break.
Surely we won't take much more of this?

devils advocate

if they were to reduce indirect taxation (petrol for example) it has to be clawed back from somewhere given the country is in debt

so higher Income tax? higher NI? fewer improvements to hospitals? schools? train less nurses? etc etc

not spending 67 billion on updating Trident?

if they cut back on that i am off to france

Seriously? Spending 67 billion on Trident and 4 Billion on aircraft carriers is stupid when you're asking the military to cut 15% from their budgets...I have no problem with spending on the military but this can't be smart.

[TightEnd]

Quoted from a group on Facebook

Take the time to at least read this, then, see what you think and pass it on if you agree with it.
We are hitting 106.9 p a litre in some areas now, soon we will be faced with paying £1.10 a litre.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain
day campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil
companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't
continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more
of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can
really work.
Please read it and join in!
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned
us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take
aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the market
place not sellers. With the price of petrol going up more each
day, we consumers need to take
action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come
down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their
Petrol! We can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two
biggest oil companies (which now are one), ESSO and BP.
If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to
reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other
companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need
to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's
really simple to do!!
Now, don't wimp out on me at this point... keep reading and I'll
explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to a lot of people. If each of you send it
to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to
at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, until we reach around THREE MILLION consumers!
Again, all You have to do is send this to 10 people. That's
all.(and not buy at ESSO/BP)

Invite ten more people to this group within one day of joining, all 3 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next
8days!!! Acting together we can make a difference If this makes
sense to you, please pass this message on.
PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE 69p a LITRE
RANGE
It's easy to make this happen. Just invite your friends, and buy
your petrol at Asda,Tesco, Morrisons Jet etc.
i.e. boycott BP, Shell and Esso (and Sainsburys)would this work

And who exactly supplies Asda, Morrisions, & Tesco with Fuel? Correct. BP, Esso, Shell. As protests go, it's as blunt as a blunt thing.

I think we should worry less about the price of petrol - it's just money, & a luxury - & more about some of the dreadful World-disasters of the last month.

During the aftermath of the Burma Cyclone, the Daily Express & Daily Mail Headlines were about the £10 Tax affair & Gordon Brown. As sick as sick gets.

I don't agree actually. Not wishing to downplay at all the terrible natural disasters recently, but how is Petrol a luxury for the vast majority of Britons? Much of public transport is either too expensive or too unreliable for petrol for one's personal use to be anything other than a necessity.

[Horneris]

I think they should be higher.

To keep poor people off the roads.

[gatso]

Yes, petrol sells for more than it ever has, yet independent petrol stations can't afford to stay open and are closing at an ever increasing rate.

avg margin on retail petrol sales is around the 1p/l mark. when I was running garages selling 7,000 l/daythe fuel sales didn't provide enough profit to cover wages for a single cashier on min wage. the only reason to run a petrol forecourt nowadays is to attract footfall through your shop.

Why does BP charge 120p a litre near me, when Sainsbury's (using BP fuels) only charge 110p a litre?

(I say only, but it's relative)

loss leader. while not knowing how busy the place is it's highly unlikely that they sell more than about 12,000l/day. at 9p/l loss (the 10p price difference-the 1p profit the BP is making) they've only got to make just over £1,000/day extra from the customers that the petrol attracts into the supermarket.

also they will be involved in bunkering which allowed them to advance purchase from suppliers at a fixed rate at some point in the past so in a rising market they're always buying at a lower price than any independants who have to buy at the surrent market rate