Motorists gear up for petrol boycott

A "Dump the Pump" truck takes the campaign message to the streets

From staff and wire reports

LONDON (CNN) -- Motorists across the U.K. are being urged to join a 24-hour boycott of filling stations in protest at the country's high petrol prices.

The "Dump the Pump" campaign is calling on motorists to leave their cars at home Tuesday -- and to do the same every subsequent Monday - as part of a campaign to persuade the U.K. government to slash petrol taxes.

Petrol prices in the U.K. are the highest in Europe, with tax and duties making up at least 75 pence of every pound spent on premium unleaded petrol.

One of the men behind the protest, campaign organiser Garry Russell, said there had been a "fantastic" response from the country's motorists.

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He said: "Everyone has been hugely positive. We are expecting a great deal of support for the campaign.

"But the most important thing is that Tuesday is just the start -- we will be continuing this protest every Monday. We want the government to see that we mean business."

The campaigners hope that even if high petrol prices stay in place, the U.K. government will at least use fuel taxes to upgrade roads and the public transport system.

Petrol prices in Britain increased by more than 40 per cent between January 1999 and June 2000, but fell slightly at the weekend when three supermarket giants all dropped their prices below 80-pence per litre.

That was followed by BP and Shell, although the companies said the reductions were a reaction to falling commodity prices rather than in response to the supermarket price cuts.

"Dump the Pump" organisers have set up a Web site outlining their aims, and are also urging the public to lobby politicians.

The Web site calls on motorists to use public transport for the day, saying: "If everyone took to the trains and buses for the day, like the government wants us to, it would prove once and for all that the system cannot cope as everything would just grind to a halt."

But not everyone supports the campaign, with Environmental group Friends of the Earth calling it a "cynical stunt" prompted by politicians from the opposition Conservative Party.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said it was for the public to make their own decisions, but added: "We do recognize there are problems in some parts of the country."

Of the 18-pence increase for a litre of petrol over the last 16 months, only two-pence was due to duty hikes, he said.

Blair's spokesman said the last budget had included the lowest rise in petrol duty for 11 years, while the government had abandoned the "fuel escalator", which had committed it to pump up prices by a certain amount above the rate of inflation every year.

Reuters contributed to this report.

European fuel prices even higher than those in U.S.
March 13, 2000

The Automobile Association UK
Dump the Pump campaign
Friends of the Earth

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