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P FUF'711TY
Page 7
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TransAction founder says fuel duty is still a problem
christper.waitori1iru.co.uk
TEN YEARS AFTER protests over rising fuel duty led to blockades at fuel refineries and pumps running dry, one of the founders of protest group TransAction claims that there has been "no advancement" in addressing the crippling levels of fuel duty.
Mike Presniell, MD at Kentbased Presniell Tipper Contractors and founder member of TransAction, tells CM that little progress has been made since the protests in 2000 in creating a sustainable 2 level of fuel duty.
He says of the protest action at the time: It might not have been the right thing to do, but it was nec essary because of the situation we were in. and we are still in the same situation today."
Two years ago. TransAction held further protests over the rising price of fuel and duty: "We are still looking for the same things as we were when it [the 2000 protests] started. "Fuel is still going up, duty is going up, we can't claim it back. We are still saying the same thing."
Brian Owen, owner of Ivor Owen & Sons in Wrexham, who also protested in 2000, concurs: "The price of fuel might have stabilised since then, but duty is still too much."
According to Freight Transport Association figures, in 2000 fuel represented 32% of the total running costs of a 40-tonne artic. In April 2010, it represented an average of 35% of total running costs of the same vehicle. It peaked at 38% in 2008.
• See CM next week for an investigation into the events of 2000.