Fuel Prices

Robert Buckland Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robert Buckland (South Swindon) (Con)]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his long campaign, which I fully support. Residents and businesses in my constituency are bemused by a system that is not a free market, because it is not open and transparent. Until we get that transparency that he is so clearly adumbrating, we will not genuinely achieve success for those we represent.

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend is exactly right; the key issue is transparency. That is why I am asking, as are all the MPs who have signed today’s motion, for an investigation not just by the OFT, but by the Financial Services Authority as well. Last year, President Obama saw the same problems in America and he took action against rogue traders and banks, bringing in tough penalties, including prison, for people convicted of illegal market manipulation. We should do that in Britain, too.

In conclusion, it would be churlish of me not to welcome the modest steps taken by the OFT. I am grateful that it has agreed to hold an inquiry into whether there should be an inquiry, although I note that when I first wrote to the OFT earlier in the year it was less interested. Its chief executive wrote to me saying that

“even where we are able to investigate an issue, we may not necessarily do so, as we prioritise our work according to available resources”.

That was Sir Humphrey’s way of saying no. However, I am pleased that the OFT is inching towards a full investigation. My hope is that this debate will allow MPs to tell the OFT what is happening in their patch and what problems residents are facing. The FSA has agreed to meet the whistleblowers, so that will happen in due course, and I urge it to take further action.

My questions to the Minister are as follows: will he write to the OFT and the FSA setting out his concerns and reflecting what Members say this afternoon? Will he investigate the issue of anticompetitive pricing and how oil wholesalers are bankrupting retailers? Will he look at why some towns, such as Harlow, seem to be stuck with stubbornly higher fuel prices than everywhere else? Some of this debate is technical, but we should not forget that this is not about the economy; I am here today because I believe in social justice and I believe that the high petrol and diesel prices hurt the poor far more than they do the rich.