Fuel Prices

Ian Paisley Excerpts

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Westminster Hall

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh) on securing this important debate. I am delighted that we have the opportunity to talk about the issue and that the Minister is present to listen to the concerns being raised, to which I hope she will be able to respond positively—if not today, then at least in the Budget.

In The Daily Telegraph in January, Boris Johnson wrote the immortal words that

“when it costs more to fill your tank than to fly to Rome, something is seriously wrong.”

I say a profound “Hear, hear!” to that—there certainly is something seriously wrong when it costs less to fly to Rome than to drive to Cullybackey in my constituency. Although that is a humorous point, it is—like all such humorous points—a telling one. The pips are now squeaking throughout this country, and none more loudly than in rural parts. Many hon. Members have already indicated that the car is not a luxury for people who live in rural areas. The hon. Lady made clear the necessity for four-wheel drive vehicles in rural parts of these islands. They are absolutely essential. That has to be driven home to the Government, who live mainly in cities. They have to recognise the needs of the rural community.

I say a huge “Hear, hear!” to the words of the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr Reid), who spoke about an island pilot scheme. I am glad that I live on an island—it is called Ulster—and I hope that such a pilot scheme will apply there as well. I flew today from the mainland of Ulster to this island to participate in this debate, so I hope that there is recognition for a fuel stabiliser from my island as well as the hon. Gentleman’s island. It is critical. Parts of England, Wales and Scotland have remote rurality, but if ever such remoteness was multiplied—there are a channel and seas between us—we are on the periphery of the periphery. On that basis alone, we deserve some sort of recognition for our rural areas and recognition that help will be given.

I was delighted to see in the agreement that formed the new Government recognition that something was going to be done to address inflated fuel prices. I am sure that, if we cast our minds back to the election, we would all recall that fuel prices were exceedingly high and that our potential and actual voters said on the doorsteps, “You have to do something about fuel prices.” That lost momentum—it is almost as if the car is no longer filled with fuel and has stalled. Now that prices are back up, as the hon. Lady has said, to 136p—15p higher in parts of Scotland, and 10p in parts of Northern Ireland—surely the momentum must be put back into the issue and the Government must grasp the nettle.

[Jim Shannon]

Since the coalition came into power last year, fuel has risen by £2.35 per tank. Does my hon. Friend think that the onus is on the coalition Government to address that issue?

[Ian Paisley]

The hon. Lady has rightly indicated that there are four options. As a member of an Opposition party, I am prepared to leave it to the Government and say that it is up to them to come up with a solution. Let us hope that we can get something with cross-party and cross-House support, and that we can drive it forward so that it makes a difference for the people who send us here. I think that we can all agree on that.

[David Simpson]

While we are having a go at the coalition, I might as well join in. Does my hon. Friend agree that the coalition needs to realise that, where Northern Ireland is concerned, millions upon millions of pounds of revenue are being lost to the British Exchequer every single year the longer this goes on?

[Ian Paisley]

Yes, that is an excellent point, and I want to comment on the issue of smuggling later. I emphasise the points made by other hon. Members that the Budget gives this Government the opportunity—I hope that they will take it and listen to the concerns—to come up with a solution that we can get behind and support.

[Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman speaks eloquently about the importance of dealing with the issue. If the Government are able to deal with it, will the Democratic Unionist party and others march through the Government Lobbies in support of the Budget?

[David Simpson]

We are well used to marching.

[Ian Paisley]

At home, if I march, I need to fill in an 11-bar-one form. The hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Gavin Williamson) may not be familiar with that form, but here I have the luxury of parading anywhere I want. If I support the Government’s proposal, I will happily lead the charge through the Lobbies and he will follow in my wake.

On average, petrol at home is about £1.30 or £1.35 per litre, depending on where it is bought. Of that maximum £1.35, 80p is a combination of taxes. People have talked about holding back the 1p increase in April, which will make a difference of about 2p or 3p at the pump, but we need something that will make about 25p difference at the pump if we are going to get not only the rural community, but hauliers and local industry moving again, and people with get up and go to recognise that the economy is starting to breathe and move again. The Government have a serious duty to address that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) has touched on the issue of smuggling. High prices encourage smuggling, and on my island it is incredibly easy to smuggle, because we have a land border with another nation state which has a different fuel price. If ever there was an open invitation or open goal to the smuggler, that is it. The Minister will know that in Northern Ireland alone—these figures are staggering—£200 million is lost each year to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs because of smuggling. In the Republic of Ireland, a further €140 million is lost to their Exchequer because of fuel smuggling. On top of that, environmental waste and damage are caused as a result of removing the various tracers and markers from fuels. That causes untold environmental pollution and harm.

If we have a fuel stabiliser, or the fuel price differential is altered and brought in to recognise those differences, the opportunity to smuggle and to cause crime and waste will no longer exist. We are only encouraging crime if we do not address the matter. That is another solid reason why the Government must get behind dealing with the issue of having fair fuel prices. They could, of course, do so through a taxation cut.

[Dr McCrea]

Does my hon. Friend agree that people are looking for clarity about how we arrive at the price of our fuel in the first place? Soaring prices at the petrol pumps are causing anger, particularly bearing in mind that many of the companies concerned recently announced massive increases in profits.

[Ian Paisley]

Clarity is important. Yesterday, I took the opportunity to check how the price differential is made up. Some 58.9p on every litre is duty, and a further 22.3p is VAT. The price of the actual commodity—whether it is diesel or petrol—is currently around 46p. Then, of course, the person who is pumping the fuel has to make a small profit, which is usually a matter of pence—about 5p. There is something seriously wrong when 80p of that is all tax. As I have said, it is getting to the point when people in remote rural communities can no longer get around. The closure of petrol stations in my constituency means that it is 16 miles between some villages and the local petrol station. If someone runs out of fuel, they are stuffed. People have to start thinking ahead, buying fuel and bulk storing it. That is not safe; it is hazardous. We must recognise that we are putting immense pressures on our rural communities. Such a situation must be addressed.

I leave hon. Members with those thoughts. As I have said, like many hon. Members, I am prepared to leave it to the Government to come up with a solution that we can get behind. I am glad that the Minister is here—I can see that she is taking notes—and I hope that she is able to give us some encouragement at the end of the debate. I look forward to the Budget, which will be the opportunity for the Minister to respond.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Turner. I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh) on securing this debate. Much of what needs to be said has already been said, but I would like to make some quick points on rurality.

There are certain goods that can come only from rural areas. I have alluded to stone from quarries, and there is also milk from our farms. Such goods have to go into urban centres, so the people who transport them are based in rural areas. Big haulage contractors are based in High Peak because that is where the product is. The impact on small businesses based in rural constituencies has already been mentioned, and, if we are not careful, the price of fuel will drive such businesses away from rural areas into urban areas, thereby accelerating the demise of rural towns.

The Ferodo brake linings factory is in my village of Chapel-en-le-Frith. Shops in and around the village exist on the back of that factory and the people who work in it. If we drive such companies into urban areas, our small towns will suffer.

The Countryside Alliance has produced statistics showing that people who live in rural areas spend a higher percentage of their income on fuel because of the lack of public transport. Since I was elected to this place, I have been impressed by the transport in London. There are buses and the tube—there are various ways of getting about that are not available to people in rural areas. The bus I use to come here runs every six minutes, but buses in rural areas run every half hour or less, which makes getting around more difficult. Consequently, people spend more of their income on private transport. I believe that the average rural resident travels about 8,700 miles on private transport, whereas it is about 5,000 miles for an urban resident. That equates to an extra £200 in tax in a year.

[Ian Paisley]

One bus in my constituency comes once a day, and another bus—a charity bus—comes once a week.

[Andrew Bingham]

I am sure that that is right, and I am sure it is the same in other areas. That brings me to considering the solution. I know that the Chancellor is looking at the issue—he said so in the House—and I understand that he is in a very difficult position because of the financial implications. We have spoken about concessions for rural areas. My concern with that is defining what is rural and what is not. I have various small towns and villages in my constituency, such as Glossop, which shares a boundary with Greater Manchester. It may not be considered rural, but one can go a few miles up the road to a little village called Sparrowpit which is very rural. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart), I worry that a line will be drawn and people will fall on the wrong side of it.

The answer is the fair fuel stabiliser. I know it is a difficult issue, and I have great sympathy with the Chancellor and the Treasury team who have to determine how a stabiliser would be introduced. Perhaps we need to hold off on the duty rise that is due while we try to get it working. Many of us here are standing up for rural areas. I do not think that people in urban areas really understand how big an issue this is to those in rural areas who fill their car up perhaps two or three times a week if they have to drive here, there and everywhere, and how much that impacts on the household budget.

I thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak, Mr Turner, even though I had not notified you earlier.