What's your take on the recent rise in petrol prices? Do you think this could spark off a tanker strike or something else that even more impacting?

It's crazy, the prices in my area have shot up this week by approx 4p. I wouldnt be surprised if a strike was to take place. People are struggling as it is with prices without this

Just think about the environmental benefits.

backfoot:Just think about the environmental benefits.

Please save me from the sanctimonious tree huggers. There is no solid evidence for so-called global warming. None of the incredible tax hikes have anything to do with the discredited global warming crap being punted around. It has everything to do with taxing the living daylights out of the motorist as the government cannot get it from anywhere else.

The actual prices on the forecourts are blatant profiteering as the UK has approximately 70 days of stocks so why is an instant forecourt rise done every time the price of a barrel of crude goes up? GREED.

I hope and pray that someone gets up and demands proof for these wretched green tax lunatics that we have to listen to every day. We sure don't help, but this little island is NOT responsible for the world environment and I am sick and tired of paying for discredited and unproven lies that we are forced to endure. Petrol and Diesel prices are all about government and corporate greed, nothing more, nothing less so drop the crap and deal with the facts.

HACKED OFF SHARK!

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For every positive action, there's an equal and opposite government plan.

Quite agree Shark

123 for a litre of diesel around our way. I can't understand why there aren't the protests there were when things looked to be heading for £1 a litre and we had all those blockades. Everything is going up and there is no end in sight. All these fuel prices are having a knock on effect to food bills etc. Prices go up but we only get offered below inflation wage increases. Not so the politicians!!

DD

Bait on the hook........... ;-)

Sorry feeling a little miscevious today.

Take a long term view of this and what we are seeing is only the start.

We are at the point of peak oil - world oil production is going to fall from about now. Just as lots of countries (China, India)want a heck of a lot more of the stuff. And just as our own North Sea reserves are running out. Basic law of demand and supply means that the price of oil will go inexorably upwards. Ever upwards.

No doubt there is some profiteering going on at the moment and there is likely to be social unrest. But nothing compared to what is to come.

We now find ourselves in a situation where the main substitute for petrol seems to be biofuel. Biofuel crops = less food crops = higher food prices = world starvation. What a choice.

We'd better get used to a no (or at best high priced) petrol economy. 'Cos it isn't going to get any better.

Question. If you were in HM Government and about 30% of all your annual tax reveues related in some way to the motor car, what would you do when you realise that oil is running out. (Apart from take a lot of expensive holidays while you still can).

Me, I'm thinking about investing in a horse.

Nice one grey man- A horse may soon be the quickest option. I went to an event with someone from the bank of England. As the previous respondent said SUPPY and DEMAND the demand is going up and the supply is going down (artificiall I wonder).

It is already effecting prices plus the food shortage ....credit crunch......heating costs....things are certainly getting tighter :-(

Some interesting points here. Makes you wonder what it'll be like in a few months; petrol prices reaching £1.50 a litre, possibly more...

terrible!!! in north ayrshire we're up to £1.26/litre of diesel and i dont think its in any danger of coming down anytime soon. no wonder there striking with the amount of profit that the oil companies make.

think it'll probably be sorted out though.

I heard on the radio that one garage was charging £1.35 and the excuse was a "computer error". Some petrol stations are taking advantage of the strike.

It costs me about £85 to fill up my tank which will allow me approximately 300 miles. I spend about £300 a month on petrol (give or take). How much of this goes to the Government?!

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Kind Regards,

Vicissitude

OK. Here is an example. Lets say petrol is costing you £1.10 per litre (remember those days ?).

The petrol cost is 43.25p per litre

Fuel tax is 50.35p per litre

VAT is 16.4p per litre.

So. As a rule of thumb think of it like this - 39% of what you pay in total per litre is the price of the petrol. 61% of what you pay is tax (fuel tax and VAT).

The fuel tax is a fixed amount per litre (until October 2008 I think) but VAT is a percentage. So every time petrol goes up in price the Government get 17.5% of that increase as VAT......

Time for a beer. Sod 'em.

In New Zealand the cost is about NZ$1 per litre which is about 40p.

As smokers give up or die out, the government is left with making drivers the bogeymen to pick on whenever they need more money to pay for their schemes. Oh yes, drivers and 10% rate tax payers.

From the Guardian. Budget report. 13th March 2008.

"The surging cost of crude oil - which closed at just under $110 a barrel last night - meant that motorists were spared a 2p increase on a litre of petrol until October. With inflation rising and family budgets stretched by the higher cost of fuel and food, the chancellor decided it was the wrong time to increase the cost of driving still further, but pledged an above-inflation increase in fuel duty in 2010."

Whoopeee doooo.