Quentin Willson is one of Britain’s best-known motoring authorities. He spent over a decade presenting BBC's Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and was largely responsible for bringing the once scandalously high prices of new cars in the UK down to the same level as the rest of Europe. He is the lead spokesmen for FairFuelUK and works closely with the team behind the fight for lower fuel prices called Peter Carroll Associates
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Sunday, May 19, 2013
 'RIP-OFF FUEL PRICES ARE HURTING MILLIONS OF UK MOTORISTS AT A DIFFICULT TIME.' ROBERT HALFON MP FOR FAIRFUELUK
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 "Everybody knows that we need to cut fuel duty, but at least the Government is on the side of the motorist. They have overseen a historic freeze in fuel duty, and cut it by 1% over the last 3 years. Yet the price of petrol remains stubbornly high-it is now 60% higher than it was in January 2009, and 800,000 families spend over a quarter of their income filling up their car." (Robert Halfon MP is pictured outside No 10 holding the FairFuelUK poster)
"We are in an ‘oil shock’. Petrol prices remain high due to the global price of crude oil, which, after inflation, increased by 50% since 2009. Over the past 3 years, I have regularly raised my concerns that companies have kept the cost of fuel artificially high through a number of means, such as creating ‘petrol deserts’. And where oil prices have fallen internationally, ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Thursday, May 16, 2013
ITS TAKEN EUROPEAN INVESTIGATORS TO ACT ON SOMETHING THAT I AND FAIRFUELUK SPENT MONTHS WARNING THE GOVERNMENT ABOUT
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A Message from Quentin Willson: Spokesman for FairFuelUK
This isn't a good week for Government regulators. Back
in September I wrote to the FSA enclosing testimony from an oil industry whistle blower who alleged that price fixing was systemic. FairFuelUK and I then
met with the OFT and submitted evidence about the volatility of fuel prices and
begged them to investigate oil price manipulation. Both bodies said that there
was no case to answer.
I was appalled and again met with the OFT to discuss
their findings. They claimed their investigation was far-reaching and they
could find no case to answer. I remember being very worried at the time when
they refused to show us evidence from the oil industry or give us an idea of
what sort of lobbying the oil majors had done. This opacity from an independent
consumer watchdog seemed unfair. Our calls for an ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013
ARE DIESEL AND PETROL PRICES BEING RIGGED?
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 News that EU competition authorities have raided some Oil
companies and the offices of those companies that monitor and report the price
of Oil is a dramatic development. At this stage, we simply don’t know
where this will lead. At the very least, it clearly shows that the Oil
market must be made more transparent so that we can be confident that it is
working fairly. At worse, it raises the spectre that we have indeed all
been ‘ripped off’ in spectacular style.
Earlier this year the UK Office of Fair Trading did an’
inquiry into whether we needed an inquiry’ in relation to the petrol/diesel
market. We were extremely disappointed that based on their initial work,
they decided not to carry out a full scale investigation. Our Quentin
Willson also wrote to the UK Financial Services Agency asking them to look into
‘whistleblower’ claims that the Oil ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
NURSES HAVE TO RAISE MONEY TO FILL THEIR TANKS IN ORDER TO VISIT SICK CANCER PATIENTS
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Are you aware of any local campaigns like this one?
St Clare Hospice in Essex are running a "Give a gallon"
Campaign so their Specialist Palliative Care Nurses can effectively visit their
cancer sufferers.
The cost of fuel has severely impacted on the Nation's
healthcare professionals’ capabilities to drive to their sick patients. FairFuelUK has had hundreds of examples sent
in by supporters of how in some cases Nurses have to make a choice as to whether
they can afford to see certain of their patients in the community.
Can this be
right? And can it be right that they have to raise funds through the public’s
"charitable giving” in order to fill up their cars. The cars that
represent a lifeline to patients. What do you think? Let us have your comments
below.
You can visit www.stclarehospice.org.uk which ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
REACTION TO PRIME MINISTER’S COMMENTS ON FUEL DUTY - FAIRFUELUK
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FairFuelUK's reaction to Prime
Minister’s Comments on Fuel Duty - Daily Telegraph Front page April 23rd 2013
David Cameron’s promise to ‘keep
going’ suspending further fuel duty rises marks a historic victory for the
FairFuelUK campaign.
(See Daily Telegraph Article: Right).
After successfully pressurising the Government to
block 13 pence worth of duty rises since March 2011, FairFuelUK welcomes this
contribution to the debate by the Prime Minister who now seems to agree that
even despite these duty rise cancellations ‘the price at the pump is still very
high’.
FairFuelUK’s mobilisation of mass public
opinion, intense lobbying of MPs, numerous meetings with Ministers and Treasury
officials plus their ground-breaking economic research has changed the
Government’s attitude to fuel duty in the UK and brought a clearer understanding ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Friday, April 12, 2013
TREASURY WANTS FURTHER DIALOGUE WITH FAIRFUELUK
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 We have received a courteous and engaging letter from
Danny Alexander the Chief Secretary to the Treasury regarding the economic
evidence from the NIESR Report we
presented to him and his officials at the end of 2012.
This report quite clearly shows the impact of cutting
Fuel Duty by 3p. If instead of raising fuel duty the government were to
introduce this cut in tax – in line with policies under action and discussion
in France and the USA - the relative impact according to the NIESR is as
follows:
- Net increase
of 70,000 jobs
- UK Growth
boosted by 0.2%
The Rt. Hon. Danny Alexander MP (pictured with Quentin
Willson), in his letter to FairFuelUK, has constructively questioned some of
the assumptions made in the NIESR study and
has asked the FairFuelUK Campaign for further discussions with his Treasury
Officials to investigate the report's ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Friday, April 5, 2013
PROOF THAT WE HAVE REACHED A POINT WHERE CONSUMERS HAVE HAD ENOUGH
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 Reacting to news that 20% less petrol is purchased now
compared to 5 years ago FairFuelUK spokesman Quentin Willson said: 'Petrol has
become so unaffordable for so many that high prices have changed our buying
patterns completely. Such a huge fall in consumption is proof that we've
reached a point where consumers have had enough.’
Howard Cox, Co-founder of FairFuelUK said:'The price of petrol
(and diesel) has gone way beyond acceptable and practical economic sense. The
current levels of prices at the pumps are inhibiting UK growth,
business investment, employment and social
interaction.It's time now to listen to all the evidence and
significantly cut fuel duty to stimulate the economy and motivate businesses
and the public. It's plain common sense!'
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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
FAIRFUELUK'S BUDGET REACTION
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 Reacting to news that September's Fuel Duty Rise is Cancelled FairFuelUK spokesman Quentin Willson said:
This is welcome news for families and
businesses across the UK as far as it goes. It is a sign that the Government is
listening, but there will be widespread disappointment that the cancellation of
this duty rise gives them no immediate relief from climbing fuel prices.
Cancelling a rise that really shouldn't happen is not enough. The Government
needs to cut duty substantially to get the economic growth we all
need.
The good news is that our Campaign has helped prevent 13 pence of Fuel Duty Rises in the last 2 years. That's £6.5 Billion of tax we have not paid. The Cancelled Tax rise planned for this September means £1 Billion of Duty savings and don't forget there's VAT on top. The FTA a ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
THE RHA AND THE APN CALL FOR A BUDGET CUT IN FUEL DUTY
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One of our key Campaign Backers, the Road Haulage Association, has
highlighted the impact that a 3p per litre cut in fuel duty will have on
haulage operators.
Geoff
Dunning, RHA Chief Executive said; "UK road transport operators are the people
who actually keep the wheels of the economy moving. To them, diesel fuel
represents the life blood without which, they are unable to function. Yet for
many hauliers, high levels of fuel duty mean that diesel is fast becoming a
luxury item”.
According
to an RHA-funded report from the National Institute for Economic and Social
Research, a fuel duty cut of 3ppl, would:
- ·Create
70,000 jobs
- ·Boost
the economy by 0.2% - essential at a time when financial growth is so critical
- ·Reduce
the fiscal position by £1800M – much less than the £3 billion the Treasury
would expect.
The
report also clearly ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
QUENTIN WILLSON'S THOUGHTS ON THE EVE OF THE SPRING BUDGET
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Quentin Willson says that high fuel duty is currently a 'corrosive tax'.
This is a plea, an entreaty, a cri de coeur. And it comes from the millions of struggling families and businesses across the UK. The unaffordable level of fuel duty in this country is causing widespread misery, holding back growth and as a tax that restricts the movement of goods and people on our roads, is deeply counterproductive. Every shred of research says the same thing. Consumers are spending and travelling less, disposable income is down, economic activity is reduced and we’re buying less petrol and diesel than ever before. And that’s simply because fuel the most expensive its ever been in the history of road transport.
And it’s deeply mischievous to try and marginalise this issue by talking about ‘motorists’ and ‘car lobby groups’. High fuel costs effect every single person in the UK whether they drive ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Sunday, March 10, 2013
OUR ‘CUT FUEL DUTY LOBBY DAY’ IN WESTMINSTER……
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Last Monday, we held a ‘drop in’ lobby day at
Westminster. As I hope you’ll understand, things are very hectic on the
FairFuelUK front as we run up to the Budget on March 20th – so
apologies for a slightly slower than normal update on how the day went.
First, it’s probably worth just going over exactly what we
did and why we did it. Over the last two years, FairFuelUK has built up
really strong relationships with MPs from most of the Parties represented at
Westminster. In the end, no matter how much campaigning we do either
outside Parliament or in the media, getting the opportunity to speak ‘face to
face’ with MPs is vital. Getting MPs to understand our argument and the
strength of feeling from you, our supporters, is the most effective way of
applying pressure to the Chancellor and other Ministers who make the ... CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013
RAC FOUNDATION REPORT VINDICATES FAIRFUELUK’S CALL FOR URGENT ACTION ON FUEL DUTY IN MARCH BUDGET
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Startling Findings from the RAC Foundation
- 800,000 homes
spend more than a quarter of their income on running a car
- The poorest ten
per cent of car-owning households in the UK are mired in transport poverty
and are spending at least 27% of their disposable income on buying and
running a vehicle.
- This equates to
roughly 800,000 homes.
- By contrast,
those in the wealthiest car-owning households are spending around 12% of
their disposable incomes on purchasing and operating a car.
- Of a total
weekly expenditure of £167, those in the poorest car-owning households see
£44 go on vehicle-related purchasing and operating
costs.
- Of the £44, £16
is used to buy petrol and diesel and £8.30 is spent on insurance.
- The high level
of expenditure is revealed in analysis of previously unreleased data from
the Office for National Statistics which has been seen ...
| CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
FAIRFUELUK STEPPING UP THE CAMPAIGN FOR A CUT IN FUEL DUTY
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Next week the FairFuel Team and I will be spending the day at the House of Commons talking to as many MPs as we can to help cut fuel duty. Our poll shows that 70% of the population feel that high fuel costs are now their most pressing financial concern. And its only going to get worse. The falling pound and speculator activity will push pump prices even higher in the next few months and drag the economy further towards a triple dip recession. Average diesel prices are already at £1.46 and unleaded at £1.40 but analysts are saying that £1.50 for diesel is literally only weeks way. This will be a landmark figure and the highest price ever in the UK. We just can't let this happen. To blithely allow market speculation and falls in the value of sterling to inflate the cost of goods transport and services is ...CLICK TO SEE FULL ARTICLE
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You are welcome to add your comments to My FairFuelUK Blog, but please do not include defamatory, insulting or abusive language about politicians, people who run the campaign including swear words on any posted subject. This is a forum to share your views and feelings. Please observe these rules otherwise your IP address will be blocked and your comments removed. Your comments are read by many influential people in the media and politics so please be constructive about these issues. We are fighting for lower fuel prices. Quentin Willson
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