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16/09/2005
Fuel protest continues on motorway
A ‘go-slow’ crawl by fuel protestors on a Welsh motorway is continuing, despite disappointing turnout for other protests on Wednesday.
A convoy, which consists of lorries, farm vehicles, vans and other vehicles, is travelling along the M4 in south Wales, after leaving from near Llanelli to travel to Newport.
According to reports, the protestors have ignored attempts by the police to force the protestors to travel at no less than 40mph. The convoy is believed to be travelling at around 20 mph and includes around 60 vehicles. However, police have said that the number of vehicles involved has varied as vehicles leave and join the convoy at various points along the route.
The protests, which began on Wednesday, were organised by the Fuel Lobby to highlight the rising price of fuel. The protests sparked ‘panic-buying’ of fuel earlier this week, as motorists feared that the protests could lead to the blockades of oil refineries which almost brought Britain to a standstill in 2000.
However, the turn-out for the protests staged at key distribution centres on Wednesday were disappointing, although Fuel Lobby spokesperson Andrew Spence claimed that the intention was never to blockade the refineries and hailed the protests a success. He told reporters: “I doubt that government would have given us the 1.2p freeze in duty proposed for October [without the protests]. I like to think that we have achieved something this week.”
Friday’s protest continued as several retailer announced that they were cutting petrol prices. Asda, Tesco and Esso have all announced that they are cutting 4p off the cost of a litre of petrol, citing a decrease in the wholesale price of fuel.
Fuel prices had risen rapidly recently due to a combination of factors, including the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the US.
On Tuesday, Chancellor Gordon Brown called for Opec countries to increase supply in order to tackle the rising prices, during a speech at the TUC conference. However, he resisted calls to reduce fuel duty.
(KMcA/SP)
A convoy, which consists of lorries, farm vehicles, vans and other vehicles, is travelling along the M4 in south Wales, after leaving from near Llanelli to travel to Newport.
According to reports, the protestors have ignored attempts by the police to force the protestors to travel at no less than 40mph. The convoy is believed to be travelling at around 20 mph and includes around 60 vehicles. However, police have said that the number of vehicles involved has varied as vehicles leave and join the convoy at various points along the route.
The protests, which began on Wednesday, were organised by the Fuel Lobby to highlight the rising price of fuel. The protests sparked ‘panic-buying’ of fuel earlier this week, as motorists feared that the protests could lead to the blockades of oil refineries which almost brought Britain to a standstill in 2000.
However, the turn-out for the protests staged at key distribution centres on Wednesday were disappointing, although Fuel Lobby spokesperson Andrew Spence claimed that the intention was never to blockade the refineries and hailed the protests a success. He told reporters: “I doubt that government would have given us the 1.2p freeze in duty proposed for October [without the protests]. I like to think that we have achieved something this week.”
Friday’s protest continued as several retailer announced that they were cutting petrol prices. Asda, Tesco and Esso have all announced that they are cutting 4p off the cost of a litre of petrol, citing a decrease in the wholesale price of fuel.
Fuel prices had risen rapidly recently due to a combination of factors, including the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the US.
On Tuesday, Chancellor Gordon Brown called for Opec countries to increase supply in order to tackle the rising prices, during a speech at the TUC conference. However, he resisted calls to reduce fuel duty.
(KMcA/SP)
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Fuel protests threatened
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Fuel protests threatened
Protestors have threatened to begin blockading refineries next week, if the tax on fuel is not reduced. Andrew Spence, a spokesperson for the Fuel Lobby, warned that the blockades would begin at 6am on September 14, unless price cuts were made.
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Fuel Price Protest Hits Motorists
Rush hour motorists will face headaches today as motorcyclists stage a 'go-slow' protest at soaring fuel prices. Hundreds of motorcyclists congregated at Birch services between junctions 18 and 19 on the M62 before riding en masse in Manchester city centre.
Fuel Price Protest Hits Motorists
Rush hour motorists will face headaches today as motorcyclists stage a 'go-slow' protest at soaring fuel prices. Hundreds of motorcyclists congregated at Birch services between junctions 18 and 19 on the M62 before riding en masse in Manchester city centre.
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Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:It will be cloudy with a spell of heavy rain pushing south through late evening and the early hours, soon followed by some clear spells. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
