Petrol companies using Ukraine war to push up prices ‘immoral scum’ says Senedd Member
A Plaid Cymru MS has lashed out at petrol companies accusing them of cashing in on a crisis by using the Ukraine war as an excuse to inflate prices.
In a tweet today, Mabon ab Gwynfor MS for Dwyfor Meirionydd has slammed the cost of diesel which is nearly £2 per litre in a rural filling station.
He highlights the fact that there is currently no ban on Russian oil, which only makes up 10% of UK oil imports, concluding that the prices are a result of big petrol companies cashing in.
🛢️There's no ban on Russian oil.
🛢️Russia's not a member of OPEC which basically sets oil price.
🛢️Only 10% of UK oil comes from Russia.
🛢️Yet this is the price of diesel in rural Wales.
🛢️Conclusion: large Petro. companies are cashing in on a crisis.
Immoral Scum.#CashMachine pic.twitter.com/iRlCpiRIM9— Mabon ap Gwynfor AS 🏴 (@mabonapgwynfor) March 11, 2022
He added: “And just to confirm, petrol stations don’t set their prices. They don’t want to see high pump prices because it damages trade and trust. This is down to oil cartels.”
Welsh motorists are having to pay an average of £1.61 a litre for unleaded, while the RAC says that diesel prices across the UK have reached an average cost of £1.70 a litre.
However, motorists in rural areas are already paying significantly higher costs per litre than those averages, with reports of diesel reaching a £1.98 and petrol at £1.89 at Pont Abraham in West Wales on Friday.
Profiteering
According to the RAC a petition calling on the UK Government to cut VAT and fuel duty has gained momentum since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and oil producers are being accused of profiteering.
The price of fuel can be divided into three sections; the taxes imposed by the Government, the costs of drilling, refining and transporting, and the profit margins for the fuel companies.
For petrol, diesel and bioethanols, the Government gets around 65 per cent of the overall cost through fuel duty and value added tax (VAT).
The fuel duty represents the fixed price of fuel – it stays the same regardless how much overall oil prices fluctuate.
Currently, the Treasury adds 57.95 pence to each litre of fuel through fuel duty, and another 20 per cent through VAT. How much you pay in VAT depends on how much fuel you purchase.
While news of potential Russian energy boycotts in response to the war pushed the price of oil to nearly $140 dollars a barrel last week, the price had settled back to around $120 dollars on 10 March.
Fuel duty
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Prices at the pumps have been breaking records on a daily basis and to make matters worse the price increases have been seriously steep recently.
“We believe the Chancellor must take immediate action by cutting VAT on fuel to at least 15% to give drivers some instant respite and to protect them from future increases.
“The Chancellor could also temporarily reduce fuel duty, which is currently levied at 58p per litre, reducing this would help both businesses and consumers.”
“Diesel has now topped the landmark average price of £1.70 a litre. It rose nearly 3p a litre on Thursday which means it has gone up by 13p in a week. Petrol is now above £1.61 for the first time ever having increased by 8p a litre in a week.”
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Llandovery petrol station charging 190.1 per litre of diesel
The price of fuel shouldn’t go up when the cost of crude oil goes up but when that crude has been processed and arrives at the pump. I wonder how long that time is?
I’m in full agreement with Mabon. Not only are we still buying oil and gas from them, but also: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-phase-out-russian-oil-imports “The UK benefits from significant domestic production of oil and gas. More than two-thirds of our road fuel comes from domestic production. Russia produces only a fraction of the fuel products currently imported to the UK, with the vast majority coming from reliable suppliers like the USA, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Saudi Arabia. Russian oil imports as a percentage of total demand (DUKES 2020): Petrol, 0% Jet fuel, 5% Heating oil, 0% Diesel, 18% Gas oil (such as red diesel),… Read more »
It’s greed, pure and simple. The UK Gov could do something about it in the forthcoming Budget, the 5% VAT could be cut and a windfall tax claimed against the oil giants but it won’t happen, too many Tory MPs have a financial interest in high oil prices. It’s what you get with a corrupt organisation that is not there for you or I. With independence we can put in place regulation to stop this corruption and make government work and serve us as it’s supposed to do.
You’re the one who sounds clueless!!
If you can’t recognise a spoof account when you see one then I think you are the one that is clueless
Well done. Your medal is in the post. It’s not a “spoof” account. I’m not sure “spoof” means what you think it means. It is a troll account. Spoof suggests humour. Your Mark Drakeford account is not humourous. Just the usual EngNat tory trolling
Agreed. It’s a scam. But remember Fuel duty is currently levied at a flat rate of 57.95p per litre for both petrol and diesel, while VAT at 20% is then charged. So for every litre sold, we pay the supplier cost (about 80p per litre) PLUS 57.95p fuel duty to the government and THEN the whole thing gets 20% VAT slapped on top for Westminster. So for every 10p raise in fuel, the government gets an extra 2p. They could temporarily reduce the pain of price rises, by reducing VAT (or by making it a fixed fee) AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO THEM. But tehy don’t. You… Read more »
Just another piece of evidence, if it was ever needed, that big government and big business are hell bent on extracting as much as possible out of the ordinary consumer. Sometimes they dress it up as a “green imperative” but this time the Russian invasion of Ukraine gets used to as a cover story for a non existent shortage. UK are among the worst culprits. Departure from EU was meant to be an opportunity to cut these taxes. On the contrary they along with some EU countries will milk it while others like Ireland, Germany and I think Belgium are… Read more »
Never mind cutting VAT or Fuel Tax. Don’t bother having a windfall tax. Nationalise the fuel industry and/or have a price cap. There are many countries where Petrol prices are strictly controlled – why not here!