UK Petrol Strike

[x-ice]

A petrol strike will start throughout the UK on Wednesday (14th September 2005).

I filled up my tank earlier after queueing for petrol for 25 minutes at Tesco.

I am going to predict it will go on for about 3 weeks.

[Valleysboy1978]

Apparently the Media and Police outnumbered the protesters two to one

[yrwyddfa]

I was disgusted with the obvious selfishness of the British public this week. Anyone who even cared to read the reports made by the fuel lobby would've seen that the intention was not to disrupt fuel supplies.

Nevertheless as I drove home on Tuesday night my local petrol-station had a queue outside it nearly 1/2 mile long. The signs that there was no fuel in the pumps started to go up.

SO what I am going to do? I have to pick up the in-laws on Sunday, and that's from Heathrow airport some 100 miles from where I live. I need to go to work as my colleagues are on Holiday and I'm the only one left.

The 'panic' created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So what did I do?

I joined the queue.

[Valleysboy1978]

No queues at all in Cardiff. People must have ignored the panic-buying

[MasterBlaster]

A petrol strike will start throughout the UK on Wednesday (14th September 2005).

I filled up my tank earlier after cueing for petrol for 25 minutes at Tesco.

I am going to predict it will go on for about 3 weeks.

Wow that will sure help, so when everyone runs out of fuel, do they stop going to work or something. so the oil companies loose 3 weeks of profit. they'll get it back when you eventually have to fill back up. That leaves more fuel to sell to china and india in the mean time. Have fun with the fuel shortages and price jumps you create.

[grilkip]

somebody tell what the hell these strikes are supposed to achieve, seriously I want to know?

Edit: this thread reminds me of the Y2K when I saw tv-footage of people stocking up on canned goods and gas masks, such a laugh

[yrwyddfa]

somebody tell what the hell these strikes are supposed to achieve, seriously I want to know?

Edit: this thread reminds me of the Y2K when I saw tv-footage of people stocking up on canned goods and gas masks, such a laugh

Last time they had protests against fuel tax, the country got caught a little unawares, and we had a shortage.

I presume that they were trying it on again.

[MasterBlaster]

Last time they had protests against fuel tax, the country got caught a little unawares, and we had a shortage.

I presume that they were trying it on again.

ahhh cause a shortage. that makes sense. Reduce the supply, increase the demand in protest. Brilliant. So when It's over you'll have to pay more for fuel that you would have bought any way while you were protesting. The only way to protest with a fuel strike is to have every one in the country stop using fuel for 20 years. And even then all you will acomplish is giving china and india cheaper fuel prices.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Ok, what IS a petrol strike?

In the US, there have been a few fitful attempts at a petrol boycott (only for a day, though, we can't live without our cars for longer). That makes a vague amount of sense, but causing a shortage as a means of protest? Makes no sense. MB's got the right of it.

[yrwyddfa]

Nah. This is (basically) what happened last time.

Couple of (Welsh) farmers started moaning about fuel taxation in Britain.
Word got around that there was going to be some sort of protest.
No-one took them seriously, including the government.
Huge amounts of protesters turned up on the day - makes the news for days. No fuel can get out of the refineries.
People panic buy fuel, and the local service stations all ran out
People stopped going to work, because they couldn't run their cars.
The government sent in the big boys
Protest over.

They got lucky last time and caught everyone by surprise. This time, though, everyone was aware of what was going on.

A few people panic bought, but it wasn't enough to bring the country to it's knees, anyhow.

Waste of time, really, as the Chancellor (Gordon Brown) blamed everyone else for the high fuel prices rather than the (at least) 70% he charges.