Yesterday I filled up the family car with diesel. I have noticed the price of car fuel has gradually crept up in price in the UK over the past eight months, day by day. Last year a litre of fuel cost under £1. Now a litre of diesel is around £1.30.
I was shocked to see a full tank of fuel for a standard 2 litre family car now costs over £72!
I am disgusted that most of the money is paid back to the government in tax. Though the price of oil is out of control, it has less to do with how much a barrel of oil is, in the UK. We use our car for local trips, shopping, business trips and family days out. We rely on our car but do not see ourselves as heavy users. I work from home now, but what if I were still driving to business meetings on a daily basis?
The price of fuel is now affecting everyone, one way or another.
This morning there were further reports on the news on how the Spanish lorry drivers are causing a shortage of food by blockading the ports. Supermarket shelves in parts of Spain are already empty.
The Spanish dispute is now causing problems in the UK and other parts of Europe. The BMW plant in Oxfordshire, which normally works around the clock producing Minis, will be closed this weekend as they are awaiting brakes from Spain. And the four day strike by Shell lorry drivers is about to begin which will cause a shortage of fuel at the pumps.
The cost of living in the UK is outrageous. As so-called ‘luxury items’ such as flat screen televisions and computers continue to fall in price, essentials such as food and utility bills escalate uncontrollably. Electric and gas bills have risen this year by between 15-20% and our council tax for a rented property is almost £1500 per year.
As a child I remember the Winter of Discontent in 1979. High unemployment, strikes and riots. Are we heading for another Winter of Discontent, thirty years on?
1 comment so far
1 Mike Harmon // Jun 13, 2008 at 9:39 am
Where did you get your blog layout from? I’d like to get one like it for my blog.