A campaigning MEP has joined the nationwide fight to demand British drivers are treated fairly.
East Midlands MEP Derek Clark joined forces with campaigners from the group at www.FairFueluk.com to fight against rising fuel prices.
The campaign group - headed by former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson – has called for a level playing field in Europe for UK drivers.
And Mr Clark has backed the campaign. He said: "These grossly unfair high fuel prices hit us all hard.
"Every single time the price of fuel goes up, the price of your weekly shop goes up - upping costs for transport increases prices for everybody.
"We want no more fuel price rises during the term of this Parliament – that’s perfectly reasonable. No rises, parity with European fuel duty taxation and the setting up of a Fair Fuel price stabiliser."
Mr Clark said the situation was farcical – Britain has the most congested roads in Europe and EU trucks simply fill up abroad and use the UK’s roads for free.
He pointed out that UK motorways were free to use but many across the Continent are not, including roads in countries such as France, Spain and Italy among others.
Mr Clark’s conversations with haulage firm owners revealed some were giving up on runs across Europe because of the prohibitive cost of fuel taxes, insurances and taxes in the UK. They had told him a run to Frankfurt costs a UK driver about £1,000 - £250 more than their European counterparts.
Figures showed about 60 per cent of the fuel costs in the UK go on tax and VAT, higher than most countries in the world, let alone Europe and with rising insurance premiums too, Mr Clark fears for the future of many UKL haulage companies.
He said: "This has to stop. Haulage companies are crucial to British businesses – any haulier, car owner, or shopper, in fact, anyone concerned about fuel prices and who wants to support the campaign, should contact me – let’s make this Government know how we feel."
People can write to Mr Clark at The office of Derek Clark MEP, UK Independence Party, Suite 1, Rowan House, 23, Billing Road, Northampton, NN1 5AT, or e-mail him at mep@derekclarkmep.org.uk
