Britain fuel price rises risk protests

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158364.html


New tax rises in Britain, which could see petrol prices jump by over 3p a liter, have drawn condemnation by British MPs as activists are warning of protests against the move.

A cross-party group of MPs in London joined by Scottish and Welsh Assembly governments has demanded that Downing Street cut fuel duty to help those whose jobs are affected by the fuel prices rise.

The government announced a 0.76p a liter increase in fuel duty on Saturday, which will be coupled by a VAT rise from 17.5% to 20% on Tuesday to raise the cost of unleaded petrol by an average 3.5p a liter.

This comes as unleaded petrol prices are already at a record high level of 124.16p, which is a 14% rise year on year.

The price hikes will not stop at that as the government is set to further increase fuel duties in April.

The prospect of record high prices for fuel has led farmers, carrier companies and taxi drivers to begin talks on a joint protest campaign.

The options on the table are causing disruption by blockades and rallies at refineries similar to the demonstrations in 2000 and 2005.

"The cost of fuel which sparked the protests in 2000 pales in comparison to what it is now," said David Handley who was among those launching the earlier protests.

This comes as Tory MP David Morris along with several Labour MPs have presented a motion on fuel price cuts to help the “hard-pressed haulage industry”.

Meanwhile Wales' rural affairs minister Elin Jones complained about the move damaging Welsh businesses “particularly in the farming and haulage sectors”.

"People are rightly asking why the recovery is being stifled by the UK government's short-sighted actions. Fuel pricing in rural areas continues to be an utter scandal. This tax hike will only make that situation worse," she said.

Also the Scottish government called for action “to deal with the impact of rising petrol prices” as well as a discount on fuel duty especially in the rural and island communities which will be “hardest hit by rising fuel prices”.

Number of homeless on the rise in Britain

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157914.html


A coalition of charities has warned that homelessness will soar across Britain after the coalition government enforced housing benefit cuts.

Seventeen charities said the government's cuts to housing benefits could double the number of people sleeping on the streets within a year, British media reported.

The government announced, as part of its public spending review plan, it will no longer pay for 25-34 year-olds from 2012 to live in a one-bedroom flat, but it could instead only cover the costs of a room in a shared property.

According to the government's own figures, the reform will see 88,000 people lose an average of £47 a week with many whose benefits will be halved.

The coalition of charities said in a statement last month that the number of the “visibly homeless people” could surge unless the government reverses its plan to cut welfare.

"Vulnerable people who have been homeless, are leaving care or prison … sharing is often inappropriate and can be particularly detrimental to well being", said the statement.

"We have about 8,000 rough sleepers in the country and the government's reforms could easily put another 8,000 on the streets," said Howard Sinclair, the chief executive of the homeless charity Broadway and a signatory to the letter.

The problem is that local authorities have no legal duty to help house young single people. "They do not have family, no real social networks … they are outsiders and they will have nowhere but the streets to go," he said.

London, where roughly half of the country's rough sleepers live, has seen a rise in homelessness in recent years as the financial crisis hit.

Britons fear hard economic times

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157650.html


A majority of Britons are viewing the new year with trepidation due to concerns about the economy as the coalition government's public spending cuts leave their impact on society, a new poll has shown.

The survey, conducted at the behest of the Timesnewspaper, shows that two-thirds of Britons are pessimistic about improved economic conditions in 2011, and one in five has decided to revolt against the spending cuts introduced by the government.

Cities across the UK witnessed violent protests these past two months. Tens of thousands of student protesters poured into the London streets on December 9 as the House of Commons voted into law a decision to triple university tuition fees to almost £9,000.

The protests turned violent after police “kettled” protesters as young as 12 for several hours and at least 50 people were injured in the day of the vote, alone, including 12 police officers.

The coalition government, formed after inconclusive general elections in May, inherited an insolvent government with a record budget deficit of 154.7-billion-pounds. It was forced in October, soon after formation, to unveil the harshest spending cuts in decades.

Most government departments were forced to carry out at least a 20 percent cut in spending as part of the coalition plan, while almost half a million public sector jobs are waiting to be slashed over the next four years.

The survey carried out by the pollster, Populus, showed two-thirds of those, who asked, believe they will have less spending money in the coming year and a high number of people expect to fall behind with some bills.

Thirty-eight percent of the people quizzed predicted they would struggle to pay all their household bills on time, according to the poll, and around 20 percent said they were prepared to take to the streets, while seven out of 10 people said they believed public protests "can be effective."

Populus interviewed 1,003 adults aged 18 and over by telephone between December 17 and 19 for the poll.

Fuel costs 'on the rise' in Britain

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157655.html


The British consumers will have to pay higher costs for fuel in 2011 as world markets prices of crude oil increase to their highest level in more than two years.

The rise in the price of crude oil is partly linked to a recent meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in which the members decided to keep the quotas unchanged until June, the daily Belfast Telegraph reported.

“Even without any increase driven by world markets, UK motorists face a 0.76 percent rise in fuel duty - upon which they also pay VAT - on January 1”, said an AA spokesman.

“Three days later, petrol prices will rise higher when the actual rate of VAT goes up from 17.5 percent to 20 percent”, added the spokesman.

Oil prices are up by almost 30 percent since September, pushing up both pump prices and wholesale gas costs.

This development comes after the prices hit a low of around $40 a barrel at the end of 2008.

The worry among economists is that higher oil prices -- which hit both the fuel industry and the household gas and electricity sectors -- will further drive up inflation and hamper the global economic recovery.

According to the AA, the cost of unleaded petrol is now at a new record high of 123.26 pence per liter -- up 14 percent on a year ago.

Soaring petrol prices come at a bad time for UK consumers, who are battling inflation of 3.3 per- cent.

Three weeks ago, Npower became the latest of the "big six" energy providers to increase its prices - taking electricity and gas tariffs up by an average of 5 percent in the new year - following similar increases from British Gas, ScottishPower, and Scottish and Southern Energy in recent weeks.