Was the petrol price rigged too?

Many readers will have seen Monday's Telegraph, with an important scoop from @RowenaMason. As I told her for the article:

Allegations of oil fraud, and market manipulation, MUST be looked at urgently by the Bank of England and the Office of Fair Trading. This needs to happen as soon as possible.

The PetrolPromise.com campaign has repeatedly said it, but it is worth saying again: we need to know whether the oil price has been manipulated in a similar way to Libor. This could potentially impact on every single person in Harlow and the surrounding villages, as well as millions of people all round the country concerned about the price of petrol at the pumps.

by Robert Halfon MP - Working Hard for Harlow.

VIDEO: Labour Party praise my work for cheaper petrol

I'm not always known for having the support of the Labour Party (!) but their Shadow Minister was very kind to me recently about my petrolpromise.com campaign for cheaper fuel.

Cathy Jamieson MP said last week, in Parliament: I absolutely understand that the hon. Gentleman to who he is referring to, did a lot of work on the campaign. 

You can see a video above.

by Robert Halfon MP - Working Hard for Harlow.

Oil firms must take responsibility for petrol prices

Yesterday I wrote an article for "The House" magazine, about petrol prices, and why international oil firms must take responsibility.

You can read my article below.

First of all, the government has stepped up to the plate on petrol prices: stopping the 3p August rise, scrapping the January rise, and cutting fuel duty by -1p in 2011. Taken as a whole, this is a radical tax-cutting agenda, targeted in a way to help the poor. It shows that this Government is on the side of strivers – supporting aspiration, and hard work – especially as it comes against the backdrop of an economic crisis.

Ministers have done not so much a U-turn as an L-turn. They have listened to the Parliamentary campaign, to petitions such as the one at www.PetrolPromise.com, to the views of many colleagues, and particularly to what is perhaps the most effective campaigning pressure group in the country, FairFuelUK.

The question is: What next? The government has taken responsibility, but major oil firms have conspicuously failed to do so. Petrol prices are high – not just because of tax, but because of the UK oil market as well. Look at the facts. Fuel is still at around £1.30 a litre. The UK has the tenth highest petrol price in Europe and the second highest diesel price. 

There is also disturbing evidence of uncompetitiveness in the oil market. Pump prices are quick to rise, but it feels like you need a court order to get them down. From May to August last year, oil prices fell by 5.5% (adjusting for exchange rates). But petrol and diesel stayed stubbornly high, falling by just 1.5 per cent. 

There is also the thorny problem of local variation in petrol prices – especially in rural areas, but also in towns like Harlow. Harlow residents often write to me, saying that fuel is 5p cheaper in nearby towns like Epping, Hoddesdon, Welwyn, and Stevenage. There is simply no explanation for it, other than a lack of competitiveness.

So what are the Office of Fair Trading doing about this? Disappointingly, the OFT have indicated that they will not investigate the UK oil market, despite not having done so since 1998, and despite a dossier of evidence from Brian Madderson and the Retail Motor Industry association showing that British motorists are being fleeced.

That is why, together with 65 MPs of all parties, I am asking the Backbench Business Committee for a debate, with a vote insisting that the OFT investigate. A vote in the House is crucial, as the OFT is independent, and cannot be instructed by Ministers.

Britain is lagging behind the curve on this. Many other G20 countries are taking regulatory action. Germany is introducing fuel price regulation– to limit price-rises, and to stop excessive variation from one town to the next. Austria implemented theirs last year. America is bringing in tough penalties for oil traders, if they are convicted of “market-manipulation”. These are all things Britain could do as well. If other forward-looking G20 nations are clamping down on uncompetitive behaviour, so should we.

p.s. Please also sign my petition for cheaper petrol and diesel at PetrolPromise.com - 

Today, this petition has been backed by over 60+ MPs, and featured widely in The Times, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, The Sun, and also in ConservativeHome.

by Robert Halfon MP - Working Hard for Harlow.

Victory on 3p Fuel Rise in August

Today the Government announced a freeze in Fuel Duty for the rest of this year.

You can read my question below, or watch it with the video above.

Robert Halfon (Harlow): Does my Rt Hon. Friend agree that motorists across the country will welcome the cut in fuel tax announced for August and that it will greatly improve the performance of the economy? Does this not show that the Government is on the side of hard pressed working people? 

Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander): Well I agree entirely with my Hon. friend. I met with representatives of the FairFuelUK campaign yesterday. We have a great deal of sympathy with their argument, as well as the arguments made by families across this country including in remote and rural areas. I think it's worth saying, thanks to the decisions of this Coalition Government has made, not only is Fuel Tax 10p a litre lower then Labour's plans, Council Tax is lower, Income Tax is lower. In the Budget in March we saw the largest ever increase in the Income Tax personal allowance. All of which puts money back in the pockets of hard pressed families.

Please read my previous blog post on this issue here.

by Robert Halfon MP - Working Hard for Harlow.