By 2000, tax accounted for 81.5% of the total cost of unleaded petrol, up from 72.8% in 1993. The worldwide price of oil had increased from
$10 to $30 a barrel, Drivers in the UK were now paying an average of 80 pence a litre for unleaded and 80.8p for diesel. The
Conservative Party organised a day of protest on 29 July 2000 to draw attention to how fuel prices had increased under
Labour, visiting town centres with petitions and distributing leaflets. The Boycott the Pumps campaign, also referred to as Dump the Pumps, was organised for 1 August 2000, with motorists being urged not to visit
petrol stations on that day. On 8 September 2000, the
Stanlow Refinery near
Ellesmere Port in
Cheshire was
blockaded by
Farmers for Action, led by
David Handley. Over the next few days, pickets were reported at
Milford Haven and an
oil terminal at
Avonmouth causing some petrol stations to run out of supplies. On 8 September 2000, fuel protesters blockaded several facilities for a limited period and disrupted fuel supplies to
Yorkshire,
North West England, and the
Scottish Borders demanding that the government reduce fuel taxes. Some of the protesters called for a reduction of between 15 and 26 pence per litre in duties. The protests spread so that on 10 September 2000 they included facilities at the Manchester Fuels Terminal,
Kingsbury Oil Terminal, the largest inland oil terminal, and at
Cardiff Docks.
Panic buying of petrol began to close some
petrol stations as motorists queued for fuel which was beginning to be
rationed and reports of garages increasing their prices substantially.
Rolling roadblocks were also reported in
North East England on the
A1 By Tuesday 12 September 2000, 3,000 petrol stations were reported to be closed due to a lack of fuel. Tony Blair had been in contact with the oil companies during the day and announced that supplies would be on the way back to normal within 24 hours, with the oil companies having been ordered under the government's powers to commence deliveries to the emergency services. only selling fuel to ambulances and fire engines, with a hand-written sign saying "Fire, NHS Only" covering the fuel prices. On 13 September 2000 the government announced that 5% of normal fuel deliveries were made, however other reports indicated that only 3.8% amounting to compared with a normal daily sale of . In
Scotland only very limited supplies were being delivered for emergency use only. The government placed the
National Health Service (NHS) on red alert. and there were reports of
panic buying. The
Royal Mail also reported they didn't have enough fuel supplies to maintain deliveries and that schools began to close. On 14 September 2000, the protests began to end. Several blockades of refineries were still in operation and the first deliveries were sent to designated distribution points under the
emergency powers obtained by the government. A later report following an analysis of the automated counting equipment on the road network the
Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions showed that at the protest's peak, 14 September, car flows on UK motorways was 39% below normal levels and on major roads 25% below. However, for road haulage the numbers showed a smaller decline of 13% on both motorways and major roads. After the protests had ended the
Institute of Directors estimated the cost to UK businesses at £1billion. Meanwhile, similar protests began in France, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Greece. The conditions which catalysed and sustained the fuel protests of 2000 can be understood in terms of
social movement theory, for example the existence of pre-existing social networks, capacity and resources.
Reaction During the protests the oil companies were accused of
collusion with the protesters by members of the government and its advisors. It was reported that the police had kept the roads clear yet
tankers were being kept in the depots and not delivering petrol. The government stated that they would not back down The government argued that the rise in prices was due to increases in the world oil market prices and not the government's fuel duty. Two opinion polls shortly after the protests had ended showed the
Conservative Party had overtaken or reached equal standing with the governing
Labour Party.
Consequences In his
pre-Budget report of 8 November 2000, the
Chancellor,
Gordon Brown, announced numerous changes which could ease the tax burden for motorists, and which included the taxing of foreign lorries using British roads. These changes included a cut in duty on ultra-low sulphur petrol, a freeze on fuel duty for other grades of fuel until at least April 2002 (effectively ending the fuel duty escalator), placing more vehicles into the lower
vehicle excise duty (VED) band, an average cut of more than 50% on VED for lorries, and a
Brit Disc vignette scheme requiring all lorries, including those from overseas, to pay
tax to use British roads. The fuel duty freeze has been estimated to have cost the
Treasury £2billion pounds annually in a 2004 report by the
Economic and Social Research Council. A renewed protest that same month, involving a
convoy from North East England to London, did not produce the same level of support or disruption as before. It ended with a protest in
Hyde Park and the closure of the
Westway by vehicles left parked on it. A similar protest from
John O'Groats to
Edinburgh resulted in around 80 vehicles congregating in the centre of the Scottish capital.
Brynle Williams who was one of the organisers of the protests later became a member of the
Welsh Assembly for the Conservative party. ==2005==