Fuel protests in the United Kingdom

The aim of the protests was to secure a reduction in the fuel duty rate on petrol and diesel, which the government refused to enact.

Further protests took place in the United Kingdom in 2022 as a result of record high fuel prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In 1993, the fuel price escalator was introduced by the Conservatives, justified as being designed to encourage less motor vehicle use, and thus combat climate change.

[7] In 1999, lorry drivers had undertaken protests in London against rising fuel prices and announced their intentions for a nationwide campaign.

[8] The Conservative Party organised a day of protest on 29 July 2000 to draw attention to how fuel prices had increased under Labour, visiting town centres with petitions and distributing leaflets.

[11] Over the next few days, pickets were reported at Milford Haven and an oil terminal at Avonmouth causing some petrol stations to run out of supplies.

[19] At the same time BBC News reported that the government's COBRA committee had drawn up plans to deal with the crisis, including using the military to assist in moving supplies and restricting the sale of fuel.

[19] Some NHS trusts cancelled non-essential operations due to staff difficulties in reaching work and ambulances were only able to answer emergency calls in most parts of the UK.

[21] The government began deploying military tankers around the country and designated 2,000 petrol stations to receive supplies for essential services.

[24] Several blockades of refineries were still in operation and the first deliveries were sent to designated distribution points under the emergency powers obtained by the government.

[36] Were we to yield to that pressure it would run counter to every democratic principle this country believes in, and what is more, if the government was to decide its policy on taxes in response to such behaviour, the credibility of economic policy vital to any country would be severely damaged and I will simply not allow that to happen.The government stated that they would not back down[7] in the face of protests or introduce an emergency budget.

[17] A BBC opinion poll conducted by ICM of 514 people by telephone showed that the public support on 12 September 2000 for the protesters stood at 78% until the possibility of essential services being affected when it fell to 36%.

[26] An opinion poll for the Daily Mail of 502 people showed that over three-quarters thought the government had handled the crisis badly.

[31] By November support for the renewal of protests and the revival of the Conservative's fortunes had both been reduced, with Labour retaking a poll lead.

[14][38] The fuel duty freeze has been estimated to have cost the Treasury £2billion pounds annually in a 2004 report by the Economic and Social Research Council.

[2] A renewed protest that same month, involving a convoy from North East England to London, did not produce the same level of support or disruption as before.

[43][44] In August 2005, petrol increased in price to record highs of over 90 pence,[45] with a small number of stations charging over £1 a litre.

[46] In September the average price had reached 94.6p a litre,[45] with the rise being partially blamed on decreased world supply after Hurricane Katrina caused damage to some oil facilities in the United States of America.

[56] In responding to the protests, the government argued that lower than needed supplies by OPEC and the Katrina hurricane had a more significant impact on the price of fuel than the level of duty.

[57] The Scottish branch of the RHA proposed a rolling roadblock by around 30 vehicles, whereas Transaction 2007 intended to protest outside oil refineries.

[57] Whilst the rolling road block attracted 45 vehicles driving at around 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) on several motorways,[58] the level of protest at oil refineries was lower than in 2000.

[59] One of the campaign aims of the RHA was the introduction of a fuel price regulator who would control duty during periods which was supported by Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland.

Later in the day, a deputation went to 10 Downing Street to deliver a formal petition calling for the reduction of UK fuel duty.

There were those who felt that the 2007 fuel protests were politically motivated, given that many lorry owner operators and farmers would have supported the Conservative Party.

These drivers were given formal warnings and were advised over acceptable parameters of their protests, including a minimum speed and leaving lanes clear," said Superintendent Adrian Leisk.

"It is clear deliberate disruption of the network will inconvenience huge numbers of people, draw police resources away from other important work and potentially delay the response times of all emergency services," the force tweeted.