Action at last on predatory fuel costs

After months of campaigning and challenging in Parliament, I was pleased to see that last month the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the final report in its Road Fuels Market Study. The report concluded that competition is not working well, with a weakening of competition in retail since 2019. These conclusions echo the concerns I raised in the House of Commons in November last year, when I directly urged the PM to undertake an urgent review into commercial predators charging motorists extortionate prices for fuel. As a result of my intervention, the PM commissioned the Road Fuels Market Study.

Because West Dorset was so bad in terms of price discrepancy, it was selected as one of 21 local case studies across the country for the final report, following multiple complaints from

Politics

motorists and my representations in Parliament. In particular, constituents rightly raised the matter of high fuel pricing with the Morrisons-operated fuel stations in Bridport and Yeovil and the same for Tesco in Dorchester and Blandford compared to Poole. The report confirmed an average local pricing disparity over 52 weeks of petrol being around 2p per litre more expensive than the national average. However, this is only an average figure – I am well aware that local pricing activities have seen as much as 20p per litre extra being charged, especially in peak season meant to target tourists, but which end up penalising local people. Charging up to 20p per litre more for petrol is typically the sort of predatory pricing we see at motorway fuel stations.

Nationally, the report found that, from 2019-2022, average fuel margins have increased by 6p per litre. To address this, the CMA have proposed a new fuel finder scheme to enable drivers to access live, station-by-station fuel prices on their phones or satnavs; and a new monitoring body to hold the industry to account.

Since my last column, there’s also been some positive news concerning broadband connectivity in West Dorset. When I was elected back in 2019, I committed to making broadband connectivity better for West Dorset, especially for those homes and businesses that are not included in broadband suppliers’ plans. To this end, Building Digital UK has recently informed me that the constituency is set to benefit from up to one-third of an estimated £43.2 million contract as part of the latest Project Gigabit procurement phase. Invitation for tender is expected to begin later this year.

So frustrated by government climate change policy

Despite what feels like near constant rain in West Dorset, the UN says globally this July has been the hottest month since records begun. Sicily recorded temperatures of 48 degrees celsius, smashing the European record. Much of the Mediterranean has literally been on fire, with the mass evacuation of British tourists from Rhodes dominating our TV screens. Climate experts are all warning that this will increasingly be the new norm. Faced with the increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions resulting from man-made climate change the Conservative party has decided now is the perfect time to roll back on our environmental commitments.

By EDWARD MORELLO West Dorset LibDems

Instead of investing in clean renewable energy generation that can be online in 12 months, the Conservatives have awarded 100 new licences to drill for oil and gas. Drilling that will cause untold environmental damage, take 20 years to start producing, and will be sold on the international market to the highest bidder doing nothing to improve UK energy security.

Depressingly we will likely see more such policies emerging from Number 10 during the coming months, presumably because someone is advising the Conservatives that ignoring the immediate threat of a climate catastrophe is somehow a route to election victory. Over the last eight weeks I’ve been holding near-daily meetings with voters in village halls across the constituency. One common theme is frustration with the lack of long-term thinking by Government. Angry though I am, there is cause for hope: at some point in the next 18 months we will have a General Election.

Last month the Liberal Democrats scored a stunning by-election victory in neighbouring Somerton and Frome, following hot on the heels of our recent win in

Tiverton and Honiton. Like West Dorset they are predominately rural seats. Demographically and economically they are very similar to us. The issues raised on the doorsteps of West Dorset are the same ones raised by residents during those by-elections; access to NHS dentists, lack of buses, support for farmers, sewage in our rivers and on our beaches, difficulty getting GP appointments, action on climate change. The list of Conservative Party failures goes on.

The message is clear: the West Country is fed up with being taken for granted by the Conservatives. It’s time for change.