Published: Thursday, September 15, 2005
British gas price protest fizzles
JARROW, England - Peter Welsh, one of many Britons who ignored a call for nationwide fuel price protests on Wednesday, figured out long ago how to cope with gasoline that has soared to nearly $7 a gallon - more than twice as much as Americans pay.
He drives a motorbike to work. His wife drives their two children to school in their car, then returns home and takes public transportation to her government job. Beyond that, their car only gets out of the garage during local drives on weekends.
"OK, rising oil prices are a worldwide problem now. We know that. But in England, about half of what we pay for petrol is a British tax. If the government dropped the price and raised our sales tax or our income tax, we working people would still be hurt, wouldn't we?" said Welsh, 41, who delivers parcels to companies and businesses for the Royal Mail.
He spoke while filling his car at a gas station in Jarrow, where long lines formed over the weekend and early this week in panic buying set off by the threat of protests.
But few truckers and farmers answered the call to rally Wednesday at refinery gates around Britain, including at the major Shell oil refinery in Jarrow, a town outside Newcastle, the main city in northeast England. Only about a dozen demonstrators turned up.
As far as Welsh and many others in the area are concerned, there's little point in demonstrating against fuel prices. Even when a much larger protest by truckers and farmers blockaded refineries in 2000 and pumps ran dry across England, high gas prices remained.
In Britain, retail prices recently nudged past $6.90 a gallon, driven by the soaring price of oil on world markets.
The few protesters who showed up at British refineries Wednesday said they were seeking relief from Britain's high fuel taxes, which account for nearly half the cost of gasoline.
Police and government officials, who were caught by surprise by the protests in 2000, said they were prepared to deal firmly with any attempt to disrupt supplies.
Despite the muffled protest, motorists were still lining up for fuel at stations in England.
Retiree Hugh Scorgie said gas prices need to come down. "When you think how much money the government earns from fuel, it's outrageous," he said.
In Jarrow, Welsh and about a dozen others said they envied the much lower gasoline prices that Americans pay, and wondered how anyone could drive gas-guzzlers such as Humvees, especially now that fears about global warming are growing.
But they said Americans shouldn't be entirely surprised that Britons have accepted their fuel prices without much protest.
"The oil prices just shot up in the United States, too, didn't they?" Welsh said. "Did Americans protest, stop driving SUVs? If not, why are they surprised about our reaction?"
He drives a motorbike to work. His wife drives their two children to school in their car, then returns home and takes public transportation to her government job. Beyond that, their car only gets out of the garage during local drives on weekends.
"OK, rising oil prices are a worldwide problem now. We know that. But in England, about half of what we pay for petrol is a British tax. If the government dropped the price and raised our sales tax or our income tax, we working people would still be hurt, wouldn't we?" said Welsh, 41, who delivers parcels to companies and businesses for the Royal Mail.
He spoke while filling his car at a gas station in Jarrow, where long lines formed over the weekend and early this week in panic buying set off by the threat of protests.
But few truckers and farmers answered the call to rally Wednesday at refinery gates around Britain, including at the major Shell oil refinery in Jarrow, a town outside Newcastle, the main city in northeast England. Only about a dozen demonstrators turned up.
As far as Welsh and many others in the area are concerned, there's little point in demonstrating against fuel prices. Even when a much larger protest by truckers and farmers blockaded refineries in 2000 and pumps ran dry across England, high gas prices remained.
In Britain, retail prices recently nudged past $6.90 a gallon, driven by the soaring price of oil on world markets.
The few protesters who showed up at British refineries Wednesday said they were seeking relief from Britain's high fuel taxes, which account for nearly half the cost of gasoline.
Police and government officials, who were caught by surprise by the protests in 2000, said they were prepared to deal firmly with any attempt to disrupt supplies.
Despite the muffled protest, motorists were still lining up for fuel at stations in England.
Retiree Hugh Scorgie said gas prices need to come down. "When you think how much money the government earns from fuel, it's outrageous," he said.
In Jarrow, Welsh and about a dozen others said they envied the much lower gasoline prices that Americans pay, and wondered how anyone could drive gas-guzzlers such as Humvees, especially now that fears about global warming are growing.
But they said Americans shouldn't be entirely surprised that Britons have accepted their fuel prices without much protest.
"The oil prices just shot up in the United States, too, didn't they?" Welsh said. "Did Americans protest, stop driving SUVs? If not, why are they surprised about our reaction?"
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