The Fuel on the hill

Fuel protesters brought the country to a standstill in 2000. Five years later, some are threatening to do it again. Can they succeed?

Farmer and haulier Andrew Spence, who was an organiser of the People's Fuel Lobby in the north of England during 2000, says fuel prices have risen by 14% in a month.

Mr Spence, who claims to represent a group called the Fuel Lobby, is threatening to blockade all UK refineries on 14 September unless prices come down.

Rhys Park, of Less Tax on Fuel, says he intends to meet farmers and hauliers in south Wales at the end of the week to discuss what action should be taken.

And Farmers For Action chairman David Handley also says "something needs to be done".

Those who know driverchris, will also know that you'd have to go a long way to find a bigger 'petrolhead', the clue is in the name after all. But I struggle to understand the fuel lobby and their grievance.

We live in a fully paid-up capitalist market economy, I'm not over the moon about that but there we go. Some people have drawn an arbitrary line in the sand and decided that when fuel costs more than 12 Flanian Pobble Beads a pint they are justified in acts of civil disobediance.

Yes Mr Handley "something needs to be done", but I haven't been reading about hauliers converting fleets of wagons to LPG, or parents in rural areas organising school-run car pooling, or anybody doing fuck-all to change their consumption patterns.

Driverchris is a mug, don't tell Gordon Brown but he'll actually pay £5 a litre - 'cos he fuckin loves cars and motorbikes. Shit. Every spare sheckel in his life ends up being spent on petrol one way or another, either directly or by other people lapping Brands Hatch. You other drivers need to take a big fuckin' reality pill, wake up and smell the petrol fumes if you feel otherwise.