The European Energy Portal provides information on a whole range of energy prices/issues, including Petrol and Diesel prices across Europe. This great site must be one of the few benefits we get from the EU.
Take this table on relative fuel prices (Petrol and Diesel).
Unsurprisingly Petrol in the UK is among the highest in Europe, although not as bad as some.
But rather shockingly, UK Diesel is by far the most expensive in Europe.
In fact the nearest rival (price wise) is Sweden. But even in Sweden the price of Diesel is still 7.5% cheaper than in the UK.
The cheapest European diesel price is in Luxembourg which is a whopping 30% less than the UK
Diesel is of course used in road transport as well as private vehicles. No wonder the transport industry is moaning all the time.
So why is Petrol and especially Diesel so expensive?
Here is another table from the EU Energy portal, giving a cost breakdown.
Notice the root cause of the price of diesel being so high is the outrageously high UK excise duty on diesel.
Diesel requires less refining, gives a higher mpg, and for a well tuned engine is just a clean a petrol. We should be encouraging motorist to use it in preference to petrol. It is also the life blood of industry.
- No Diesel = no distribution.
- No distribution = no industry.
- No industry = no taxes to pay MP's expenses.
Any government, committed to enabling UK industry to dig us out of this current economic mess must cut the excise duty on diesel. How can industry compete when it is crippled by distribution costs?
Even from an environmental viewpoint the government must at least level the playing field with petrol.
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