Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg)
Patrick Barkham
16 September 2005
opinion
London — A potentially crippling campaign of fuel protests failed to materialise across the United Kingdom this week as tiny groups of beleaguered demonstrators failed to stop tankers filling up with petrol and diesel at oil refineries and depots across the country.
Blaming "heavy-handed" police tactics and corporate pressure on lorry drivers not to join the campaign, protesters were outnumbered by the press at the Shell refinery in Jarrow, south Tyneside, in the north east of England, and by police at a distribution centre at Purfleet, Essex, east of London.
With few demonstrators in sight, it was also business as usual at two refineries in west Wales that, five years ago, witnessed dramatic blockades.
Ray Holloway, of the Petrol Retailers' Association, on Wednesday said fuel prices were likely to fall to pre- Hurricane Katrina levels, with a reduction of four pence from the record high of 96 pence a litre.
Organisers had hoped their peaceful protests would persuade the tanker drivers visiting the refineries to refuse to fill up, but they admitted turnout was "poor" and "a big let down". Peter Knight, of British Hauliers, surveying the six placards at the Purfleet demonstration, said: "We are disappointed. There's 15 of the biggest hauliers from Kent here. Where are all the Essex lads? I don't understand."
The protests turned to farce at Purfleet when police, losing patience with one protester, Mick Presnel, dragged him from his car and inadvertently pulled his trousers down. He was taken to hospital complaining of a slipped disc. It was a final humiliation for the hauliers, who admitted defeat in their attempt to persuade tanker drivers to refuse to fill up and so cause shortages nationwide.
The protesters, however, claimed a victory, saying tanker traffic had been much reduced. But no tankers stopped for the protesters and others were re-routed. According to Captain Gatso, the anonymous campaigner helping to organise the protests, the low turnout was owing to "intelligence-led, heavy-handed police tactics" and "intimidation" of tanker drivers. -- © Guardian Newspapers 2005
Who is to blame for petrol panic?
You could heap the blame on one man, reports Oliver Burkeman. The problem would be which one: British Finance Minister Gordon Brown, United States President George W Bush, or Andrew Spence, a farmer from Consett, County Durham?
Brown keeps fuel taxes high, motivating protests. Bush presides over a policy that doesn't keep enough oil stored in an already processed state -- so when a hurri-cane knocks out 12% of the country's refineries, world prices climb. And Spence of Consett? He's the fuel lobby leader who this week warned: "We want an immediate reduction in taxation ... or there won't be a refinery in the country left open."
In fact, prices were rising before Katrina. And duties have been high for years. Spence, meanwhile, sheepishly told the BBC that his massive lobby comprised ... fewer than 100 people. Brown on Tuesday called on Opec, the oil cartel, to free up more supply. But that's a long-term problem. Who made it into such a big deal in the short term?
Step forward the Daily Mail, which splashed on Monday with the words "Panic at the petrol pump". How big was the panic at that point? Not big enough for the Mail to find a single retailer fearing a sell-out. By Tuesday, it was a different story. Panic buying was localised but real. Then it snowballed: people queue most where there are already queues.
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