Soaring fuel prices are currently caused anxiety for drivers up and down the country - but just over 20 years ago, the same phenomenon led to protests which saw massive queues at fuel pumps, thousands of garages close and goods rationed in supermarkets.
The nationwide protest back in 2000 was staged by farmers and lorry drivers concerned at rising petrol and diesel fuel prices. That year, tax accounted for over 80% of the cost of unleaded petrol, taking Britain's fuel from one time being amongst the cheapest in Europe to being the most expensive.
The Conservative Party organised a day of protest on July 29, 2000, to draw attention to how fuel prices had risen under the Labour Government. A campaign to boycott using petrol stations on the day saw some North West businesses reporting a 50% drop in business, reports North Wales Live.
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As the crisis continued, on September 8, 2000, Stanlow Refinery near Ellesmere Port was blockaded by a group called Farmers for Action using picket lines, lorries and farm vehicles. The group picketed the site for seven days causing a ripple effect as more pickets were reported at oil terminals in Britain, demanding the Government reduce fuel taxes.
The Ellesmere Port protest was led by late North Wales farmer Brynle Williams who served as a spokesperson for the group and became a national figure overnight. He had left his sheep and cattle farm in Cilcain, near Mold, to help organise the protest which attracted farmers, hauliers, taxi drivers and even local residents.
The knock-on effect of the protests caused massive queues at the pumps and thousands of garages around Britain closed due to a lack of fuel. People were left unable to run their vehicles to get to work, while some NHS trusts cancelled non-essential operations due to staff difficulties in reaching work. Ambulances were only able to answer emergency calls in most parts of the UK.
The fuel shortage also led to panic buying and supermarkets began rationing food due to difficulties in getting food deliveries through. Sainsbury's warned they would run out of food within days and Tesco started rationing some items to customers.
Mail stopped being delivered as The Royal Mail didn't have enough fuel supplies to maintain deliveries and schools began to shut. In response, the government started deploying military tankers around the country to maintain essential services, while some deliveries commenced from the refineries under police escort.
After seven days the protests started to end. While several blockades of refineries were still in operation the first deliveries were sent to designated distribution points under emergency powers obtained by the government.
The protest leaders said they were giving the government 60 days to act or more protests would be organised. In response, the government said they would not back down in the face of the threat of further protests, arguing the rise in prices was due to increases on the world oil markets not the fuel duty.
Despite much of Britain grinding to a halt for seven days, results of a BBC opinion poll showed that public support for the protesters remained high. With other polls concluding that the Labour government had handled the crisis badly, and that the Conservative Party support had benefited as a result.
In his pre-Budget report later in the year the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, announced numerous changes which could ease the tax burden for motorists, including the taxing of foreign lorries using British roads. The changes included a cut in duty on ultra-low sulphur petrol, a freeze on fuel duty for other grades of fuel until at least April 2002.
Farmers for Action organiser, Brynle Williams, later became a member of the Welsh Assembly for the Conservative party. His legacy as a politician and campaigner was praised across the political spectrum following his death in 2011, aged 62, following a battle with cancer.
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