Local economy hit by high fuel prices 21/9/11
Sirs,
Can I put some facts on the table. Comparison websites showed the cheapest fuel
in Edinburgh is £130.9/litre for Unleaded, and £135.9 for Diesel.
Stornoway’s cheapest price is £150.9/litre Unleaded and £153.9/litre for Diesel.
In real money', the cheapest petrol is £5-
The same ships deliver fuel here as do the mainland. The road carriage charges from port to station should be less as Stornoway is the port, whereas on the mainland some of the fuel has to be transported over 50 miles to stations.
There is a strong case to go the the European Court of Human Rights, and to the competition
commission. Just because we are a relatively small population does not exclude us
from having rights. Why are our MP's and MSP's or our Euro MP's only writing letter
on this -
Someone is pocketing a lot of money. Lets say that there are 5,000 cars on the islands (30,000 people on the islands so that is not unrealistic), and each of them puts 50 Litres in their cars a week. That would cost them all £377,250 in Stornoway. In Edinburgh those same 5,000 cars would pay £327,250.
That’s £50,000 a week more expensive here. We easily spend that much here every
week, but lets say that we only use that much, now times the £50,000 by 52 for the
year -
That is money that should be going into our islands economy, instead of which it
is going into some multi national fuel supplier. Our local businesses will fail on
these islands, we will fail when we cant afford our shopping or heating. We are a
captive market, and we are being farmed -
We don’t want 5p/litre off, we demand to be charged the same as Edinburgh, London
etc. The government only looks at us as a place to farm salmon for the mainland shops,
or generate electricity for the national grid. There may be a few jobs in that, but
where are the profits going -
And yes, I am an incomer. One who can see the rape of these islands and its native
people for their personal and natural assets. I wish I could apologise on behalf
of those incomers that are bleeding this beautiful place dry, but greed is the same
whoever and wherever people come from. I will stand beside locals and support them
and these islands wherever and whenever I can.
John Malone
17 Breasclete
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