With a product in ever increasing demand and reserves of the same product decreasing then there is only one way the price of the product can go.

Interesting article in a German magazine in short states that if all vehicles were changed over night to electricity then German electricity manufacture would fall short by 90% in other words oil provides as much energy as all the coal,gas and nuclear power plants.

When you consider how many products are manufactured from an oil base just about everything you have you begin to realise how much we depend on oil and how much more we are going to have to pay if we want to keep using it.

And what is your objective? To reduce taxation on fuel and create less revenue for the Government in this very fragile economy. I'll pass thanks.

No hidden agenda just interested what people think about current fuel prices.

I have worked in the fuel supply industry and I am well aware of the reasons wordwide for prices rising my point I guess is the level of taxation we currently pay and how it affects our daily lives. Personally on my Sunday night run to take my son back to college I have noticed how quiet the M6 is so I deduce from this that very few drivers now motor for pleasure just for business or essential journeys.

My HGV customers regularly point out how much the increase costs on a daily basis and how much goods delivered to shops. factories must go up to cover these costs eventually

Politicians don't take a lot of notice of protest,look at the students at the moment the cuts are going ahead.

I do feel the tide is turning slightly if people stopped work due to fuel cost and claim benefits the system would grind to a halt.

Just a thought.

Thats not cheap in Germany either Andy

The difference is the German economie is growing faster than ours I dont know what the average salaries are in Germany Andy but I reckon they wont be below the UK.

I know petrol in the Netherlands was always expensive thats why so many people are using LPG.

Whats your public transport like Andy regarding trams and busess and the cost of transport by trains.

I know comparisons arn't easy but countrys like France Germany and the UK have similair population growth.

The Poles and the Czech are catching up but average salaries are lower in Poland.The son in law is from Poland.

Thanks Andy your mother doesn't live far from me one hrs drive.Our daughter studied at Leeds Met.She lived in Headingly.Philips is still based in Eindhoven not far from Rotterdam I have been to Eindhoven a few times.Good company to work for I believe.I can't complain working for BP gave me a decent standard of living and a secure pension I hope.The dutch language is a one off thats why at school we have to learn different languages not many people speak dutch except in South Africa but that is a different story.

Hi Smiley, I'm a bit puzzled by your suggestion:

to prevent business from reclaiming the VAT element on fuel purchased for any vehicle made available for private use and pool cars

Why, since any private mileage must be declared & so fuel paid for by the individiual (as in my case) incl VAT or if private mileage is paid for by the company, fuel tax paid for by the individual (unless I'm mistaken)

Where do we go with all this in the future?When I was a young lad i am sixty one years now , most people i knew a car was a luxury.This day a car is a right.I do agree with you bonzo dog where i live most people have two cars in their drive.They must be able to afford the cost to drive or go short on other things.I cycled for ten years injection doc to work the family needed clothes and food and a morgage to pay priorities first.

People power could work wonders in this country. Unfortunately there is not enough will from the general public to make it happen. Whether it be supermarket food prices or petrol prices or anything else where the public has a choice to buy or not, enough consumer action could surely have an effect.

Imagine if no one bought a particular brand of petrol on one day or didn't shop in a particular supermarket for one day. The profits made by these companies in one day alone are huge and such action would surely be felt.

However, to mobilise such action would be impossible I feel. To be successful you need ideally 100% buy in to such action and this will never happen. In addition, you need such action to be organised and co-ordinated properly which again is difficult.

However, should such global public action ever become a reality then I will support it wholeheartedly.

My belief is that we lost a lot of our feeling of a socieity under the thatcher regime and new labour followed this on.The French people haven't lost this yet and are prepared to battle for their rigthts.There will never be a perfect system all most people want in my opinion is fairness.