Fuel Prices

Debate between Jason McCartney and Jake Berry

Thursday 13th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)]

I start by paying tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) for securing the debate. It is my privilege to speak in it. I read his allegations in The Sun today about the manipulation of oil prices. A lot of us have been outraged by the alleged manipulation of LIBOR, but the manipulation of fuel prices will have much more of an effect on our constituents. They feel the pain that it causes every single week when they fill up their car.

I want to focus on the local market in my constituency of Rossendale and Darwen. I spoke about it last June and in my view it was then and remains a broken market. Rossendale is near the town of Bury and Darwen is near the town of Bolton, so, to provide a comparison, I visited petrol stations in both places. At its peak, there was a 5p difference in fuel costs between Bury and Rossendale and between Bolton and Darwen. Rossendale and Darwen are both ribbon developments, like so many of the Lancashire industrial towns along the river valley, so someone who lives in either place is forced to commute long distances because of the nature of our community.

At this point, I want to pay special tribute to my local paper, the Rossendale Free Press—I hope it will publicise this speech, of course. With me, earlier this summer, it launched a “Rip off at the pumps” campaign. This is a positive example I can give to colleagues of where they can lead and affect the price of petrol or diesel in their own patch. We took the price at our local Tesco and compared it with the price at the Asda in Bury, and, as I said, there was a 5p difference. We called on people who lived locally not to buy their fuel at Tesco until that price was brought down. I personally met representatives of Tesco here in Westminster and asked how they arrived at that price. They told me that they drew a 3 mile geographical line around the Tesco store in Rawtenstall and used prices in that area as a comparison and basis for theirs, but what they did not say was that the only other major petrol retailer with which they were comparing their prices was also Tesco. They were both fixing and making the price in one market, which is why I think that the market is broken.

Earlier today, I checked the price difference again following the campaign run by me and the Rossendale Free Press. Petrol in Asda is Pilsworth is now £1.37.7 a litre, whereas at the Tesco in Rawtenstall it is £1.37.9. We have taken the difference down from 5p to less than half a pence. That is something positive that we can all do as Members of this House. We should not suffer discrimination at our petrol pumps for living in a rural community and we should do something about it. I hope that by running their own “Rip off at the pumps” campaigns, hon. Members can bring prices down in their area.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Jake Berry]

I am sorry, but I will not.

The Government have taken action. People who have to put fuel in their van to go to work or in their car to go to school feel the squeeze at the pumps and I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for freezing the fuel duty rise and saving everyone 10p a litre, putting the fuel back in our economy so that people can go to work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jason McCartney and Jake Berry

Thursday 14th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)]

9. What recent representations he has received on access to finance for small businesses.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

15. What recent representations he has received on access to finance for small businesses.