Fuel protests: UK government gets the blame

By Ann Busby, CNN.com writer

LONDON, England -- The motorists cramped in their cars in the long queues outside UK petrol stations on Tuesday may have been frustrated, but most were agreed that the inconvenience was a price worth paying.

For as fuel protests continued across Europe, there was general agreement in Britain -- where the demonstrations have hit hardest -- that the disruption was not the fault of the hauliers and farmers blockading oil depots.

Tempers may have been running high as fuel supplies ran low or dried up altogether, but the anger of motorists was aimed at the government and its high fuel taxes.

"Motorists in this country are being ripped off and I agree with what the protesters are saying even though what they're doing affects me," Jonathan Braimah told CNN.com, after he visited 15 petrol stations in London in an unsuccessful bid to fill up his car.

"People understand that the government needs to raise money to fund schools and hospitals but I think they'd prefer to pay a penny more in income tax -- that's more honest at least than taking more and more from drivers."

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It is a feeling echoed around the country.

"The protest causes major disruption, which I disagree with, but overall I agree with the protesters," one disgruntled driver in Scotland told the BBC.

Beryl Rhodes, from the northern English town of Rotherham said: "It's worrying because lack of fuel affects so many other things -- emergency services, supplies of food -- but petrol is just too expensive in this country and people sympathise with the demonstrators."

One woman told CNN: "I think it's great. It's time British people stood up for themselves."

Words like "horrendous", "scandalous" and "ridiculous" are frequently used to describe the price of fuel in the UK, which is the highest in Europe.

And the protesters, angry at UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's refusal to follow the French government in making concessions, are confident they have the support of the public.

"Tony Blair has made a gross mistake and has grossly underestimated the will of the country," said Brynle Williams, a spokesman for protesting farmers and truckers.

Certainly members of the public were showing their support for demonstrators outside BP Amoco's gigantic refinery at Grangemouth, on the Firth of Forth in Scotland.

As passing drivers honked their support, local people handed out mugs of vegetable soup to guard against the chilly autumn day.

"It's a load of rubbish. We'll strangle London… We will bring it to its knees," he said outside the Woodford oil terminal near the north-western city Manchester, where he was one of around 50 people setting up camp for the night.

Some motorists are less certain of the demonstrators' determination.

"I suspect it'll blow over soon because people in this country are fickle. Those taking the action will abandon their principles once their personal lives become inconvenienced," Joanne Walker, from Manchester, told CNN.com.

Her friend Fiona Wall is hoping that is the case. She is getting married in Manchester on Saturday. Her mother and siblings live in Newcastle, in the north-east, more than 230 km (144 miles) away.

"I'm getting increasingly worried that they won't be able to make it to my wedding," she said.

Tony Blair's hard line has won support from environmentalists.

"Greenpeace agrees with the government - it is absolutely right not to reduce fuel taxes," said Stephen Tindale, a British spokesman for the environmental group.

But the Prime Minister may be mistaken if he believes, as he said on Tuesday, that the British people understand the government cannot change policy in response to illegal blockades.

In the words of motorist Colin Spriggs: "Tony Blair says he's adamant that he's not going move on this issue but I think he better had or he could well find himself moving in the next general election."

Blair moves to end growing UK fuel crisis
September 12, 2000

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