Protest drivers set off for London

[vw_golf_vr6 0]

With truck horns blaring and banners waving, hundreds of lorry drivers have set off for London to protest at soaring fuel prices.

Motorists applauded as a convoy of around 90 hauliers pulled away from the Medway services on the A2 in Kent on a three-hour journey into the capital.

Around 150 lorries left Essex for London and about 100 were travelling in from Bedfordshire as well as many other hauliers from all around the UK.

"We're expecting around 600 to 1,000 lorries to make it to London," said Peter Carroll, one of the protest organisers.

The owner of Seymour Transport, which has three bases including one in Maidstone, Kent, Mr Carroll went on: "We have received tremendous support for our protest."

A section of the A40 was closed to allow the lorries to park.

The truckers will stage a rally at Marble Arch and then a delegation will hand in a letter at 10 Downing Street.

The hauliers, and other road users, are now enduring record high petrol and diesel prices, with diesel well past the 120p-a-litre mark.

The protest comes as the Government faces another potentially damaging rebellion over tax after backbenchers urged Chancellor Alistair Darling to rethink plans announced in the Budget for big increases in vehicle excise duty on "gas guzzling" cars.

Although vehicles bought before 2001 are exempt, MPs are concerned that the some owners who bought bigger cars in the past not realising the changes were on the way, could be faced with increases of up to £200.

source: http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/newswire.php...emplate-pa.html

[Jk* 0]

Good on them....apart from the last bit!

[ingham 5]

well done wish i could join in

[Karr-Man 0]

personally im surprised its taken this long....

[Damo 85 0]

who fancies a vr6oc fuel tax protest?? LOL hundereds of dubs crawling down the road with banners and horns! seriously though it has taken a while but wel done fellas. at last someone is making a stand, its getting beyond a joke.

[Jimjon 28]

i think car enthusiasts should do the same, let them know there are people who enjoy driving and this is a tax on enjoyment for us

thats how i see it anway.

hooray for the truckers!!

[nivag27 5]

Well done truckers now us CAR drivers should make a stand

[Roan 0]

It's ironic that fuel tax has actually decreased since 1999 but people are still blaming the government. People should be concentrating their energy on blaming OPEC, as they control most of the supply of oil and are refusing to increase it to keep prices high. Don't believe everything you read in papers!

[vw_golf_vr6 0]

It's ironic that fuel tax has actually decreased since 1999 but people are still blaming the government. People should be concentrating their energy on blaming OPEC' date=' as they control most of the supply of oil and are refusing to increase it to keep prices high. Don't believe everything you read in papers!

[/quote']

source?

[Karr-Man 0]

It's ironic that fuel tax has actually decreased since 1999 but people are still blaming the government. People should be concentrating their energy on blaming OPEC' date=' as they control most of the supply of oil and are refusing to increase it to keep prices high. Don't believe everything you read in papers!

[/quote']

when did that happen then? i certainly dont remember it, and i'm pretty sure that if that was the case the governement would have been shouting it from the rooftops in a "look how generous we are" manner.

[thegoth 5]

It's ironic that fuel tax has actually decreased since 1999 but people are still blaming the government. People should be concentrating their energy on blaming OPEC' date=' as they control most of the supply of oil and are refusing to increase it to keep prices high. Don't believe everything you read in papers!

[/quote']

OPEC blame speculators for buying more than is needed to try and make a quick buck.

when did that happen then? i certainly dont remember it' date=' and i'm pretty sure that if that was the case the governement would have been shouting it from the rooftops in a "look how generous we are" manner.

[/quote']

It wasn't a cut as such it's a 'In real terms' thing. out and out spin. It's less of a % of the overall price as the producers are charging more. But as an absolute numbers it's still high compared to the rest of the EU,

And they forget to mention the VAT as it's a completely different nice little earner. :@

[vw_golf_vr6 0]

the higher the price in fuel the more the government rake in on vat, i can't see them lowering the duty to be honest but we can hope...

[pimpcat 0]

im up 4 anythin that lowers me tax from 440