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From: SolidNet
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2000 6:21 PM
Subject: NCP of Britain, Fuel crisis deepens The purpose of the Solid Net ( Solidarity Network ) is to inform on the activities as well as the ideological and political views of different Communist and Workers� Parties on National and International issues. All articles in the SolidNet are the responsibility of the authors and in no way commit this Web Site. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, http://www.solidnet.org ========================================================== --------------------------------------- From: New Communist Party of Britain, Thu, 14 Sep 2000 http://www.newcommunistparty.org.uk, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lead story - 15/9/2000 Fuel crisis deepens. by Daphne Liddle PRIME Minister Tony Blair has put the army on standby as we go to press and blockades in protest at petrol prices threaten to bring the country to a standstill. Army petrol tankers are being moved around the country so they can supply fuel from the considerable army stocks as soon as the Government asks. It has described this as a precautionary measure. Meanwhile Health Secretary Alan Milburn has put the National Health Service on red alert as the fuel crisis continues and called on hospitals to practice their emergency procedures. The picket lines of truckers, farmers and other individuals have throughout been good tempered about letting tankers of fuel through if they are for emergency or other essential services. But, as public sector union Unison spokesperson Geoff Martin pointed out, health and other essential services still face crisis because their supplies of basic things like food, laundry, detergents and of course employees are, in the long term, just as necessary as ambulances and blood transfusions. Tony Blair rashly promised last Tuesday that "things will be back to normal within 24 hours". This plainly has not happened but police have moved in in force on some picket lines to clear a way for tankers to leave refineries and other oil distribution depots. The representatives of the Road Haulage Association, which is a leading organisation in the protest, have accused the police of heavy-handed tactics. But miners, Liverpool dockers and others who have been on trade union-organised picket lines will have been amused by the amiable approach taken by the police in this dispute. Peace campaigners who were arrested outside the gates of Faslane nuclear submarine base earlier this year were cleared away forcibly within an hour or two of forcing the gates closed and charged with obstruction simply for sitting in the road. Police are saying that the truckers and farmers in this dispute are not breaking any laws, yet the Criminal Justice Act, passed by the Tories in the early 90s, has umpteen clauses coveting picket lines that have never yet been used in anger. At a crisis meeting in Downing Street last Tuesday, Tony Blair and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told the oil companies it was their responsibility to ensure supplies reached the forecourts around Britain. Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said it was right to ask why tankers were being kept in depots even when the police had cleared almost all the blockades. He said: "It is reasonable to postulate that the oil companies have made a collective decision not to send out their tankers. We have to establish whether there is a real picket line and there is a danger to drivers, or if it is just protesters. "And if there is no picket line, then you would be perfectly right to ask why not." This seemingly nonchalant reply to the Government's accusation is an illustration of the power relationship between the elected government and the giant oil companies. The protest movement has mass public support -- and, unLike the miners, Liverpool dockers and peace protesters, it has the full backing of most of the press. The popular anger is justified because the high taxes on fuel, like all indirect taxes, hit those on low incomes hardest. They lead to inflation in the cost of delivering goods and services around the country and higher prices in the shops. The Government repeatedly claims the purpose of the high tax is to cut traffic pollution yet that aim has clearly failed. Many people depend on the use of vehicles for their livelihood and cars are vital for people living in rural areas with poor public transport. The aim of cutting unnecessary car journeys would be achieved much better by improved public transport with big cuts in fares -- as the Greater London Council proved in the early 80s. But this cannot happen as long as public transport remains in private hands. All taxpayer subsidies to public transport just fall into the bottomless pit that is the company owners' profits without making any impact on services. As we go to press the Government line is beginning to harden and warnings are being issued that if the shortage of petrol continues it will lead to food shortages and more serious consequences. We may yet see troops delivering petrol around the country. New Communist Party of Britain *End* |
