Fuel discount
It would be utterly churlish not to welcome the five pence per litre discount on fuel that has been announced today.
But.
Welcome as it may be, it is very difficult to understand how it is going to be delivered in an effective manner, and five pence per litre will not go a huge way towards resolving the enormous price differential between the islands and the mainland.
What particularly annoys me is the modesty of aspiration of the various political parties seeking to provide a minor plaster instead of trying to solve the gaping wound that is the vicious circle of rural depopulation.
Like many of the residents of the islands, I remain to be convinced that we will actually see a narrowing of the price differential by anywhere near the five pence, and I think the devil in the detail will be the publication of the manual for the scheme which I - and many others - will no doubt be reading in great detail.
But.
Welcome as it may be, it is very difficult to understand how it is going to be delivered in an effective manner, and five pence per litre will not go a huge way towards resolving the enormous price differential between the islands and the mainland.
What particularly annoys me is the modesty of aspiration of the various political parties seeking to provide a minor plaster instead of trying to solve the gaping wound that is the vicious circle of rural depopulation.
Like many of the residents of the islands, I remain to be convinced that we will actually see a narrowing of the price differential by anywhere near the five pence, and I think the devil in the detail will be the publication of the manual for the scheme which I - and many others - will no doubt be reading in great detail.
9 comments:
Should we not consider the local price differential first? How can Stornoway be 5p dearer than Barvas?
Angus it would and should be welcome but the island fuel cartel including Toad of Toad Hall put the prices up by 5p a few months ago to retain the staus quo in cost difference after the discount.
Until we resolve the method and model of supplying fuel nothing will change for the better as the gas peddlers will always be one step ahead.
Why can't the council take over the supply of fuel like they do for the fishermen set up bunker tanks in different places with fuel cards like the fishermen have, that would make the price very cheap possible cheaper than the mainland this could be done for derv NOT petrol most of the cars on the islands are derv anyway.
I suspect that there will, indeed, be a 5p drop on March 1st at the pump. The garage owners must be seen to do the right thing.
But.
Between then and low, I'm wondering how much prices will creep up compared to mainland increases. Or not fall as much as mainland decreases. To the extent that the 5p, come March 1st, has been effectively eroded somewhat.
I hope people monitor the prices at the pumps closely as of now, not as of March 1st next year.
Wow. A whole 5p. Time to buy the v8.
It costs 5p less in Barvas because the retailer can choose to sell petrol, and most other items, at any price he chooses. The same reason that several motorway service stations sell fuel at very similar prices to that in the Hebrides. It may be called a free economy.
It will be easy for any retailer to skim of an extra 1/2pence or even more. I'd like to think they would not do it as if any of them got rumbled (disgruntled employee??) it would be commercial suicide.
Just out of interest, to remove the local retailers from the equation. If I was rich and had a private jet how much would I pay per unit at Stornoway airport compared to Inverness or Glasgow for instance? The difference in the costs of supply will be the same as road fuel.
However I feel this 5p 'discount' is, while welcome, a waste of effort that will do little to help the average motorist.
Why don't we take a leaf from the book that the boyos in Somalia read. Gazing across to the Summer Isles I find that the view is occasionally blotted out by a supertanker.
Now, if the Niseach were to find their cojones, it would be fairly simple for them to have one diverted under the cover of darkness into LochSeaforth. A modest, but not insubstantial, grant from our friends in Westn Isles Unenterprising should see a perfectly adequate refinery built on the afterdeck, fuelled naturally by good Harris peat.
There is sufficient technical expertise waiting to be unleashed by the coves in Breasclete which would allow for all levels of refinement of crude oil to take place. Petrol, diesel, and parafin could be produced on weekdays while the weekend would be reserved for the production of castor oil, olive oil, oil of ulay, and the unmentionable one that is reserved for the haemerroids (eh?).
When the ploy runs its course, the solution to the disposal of the empty tanker can be found by shipping it down to Uist as a star attraction at the new commercial pier in Lochboisdale. All the woes of Storas would be wiped out at a stroke by offering a chance to have your photo taken on the bridge for only £250.00 ( extra to sit on the skippers knee)
J
No dont let the council take over the supply of fuel because if they decide to refuse to work for a day also known as go on strike then no-one will be able to get fuel for a whole day because of them.
This 5p thing is frankly taking the piss. Major Supermarkets on the mainland give you 5p off your fuel if you spend £50 on your shopping.
It's pathetic that the government's 'tax relief' is of less value than clubcard points.
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