Labour calls for inquiry into petrol prices

Labour are asking the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to begin launching an inquiry into petrol pricing on the forecourt.

The purpose of the inquiry would be to analyse whether competition is working and ensure that any drop in the cost of oil is being felt my consumers.

In addition to calling on the CMA to launch this inquiry, Labour are also asking the Government to back proposals that will ensure that “commodity markets” – which is a market that trades in primary goods such as oil and rubber – are more transparent. The Government have previously refused to support such transparency measures, when in 2012 Labour added amendments to the Financial Services Bill that would have given regulators and financial authorities further information to hold industries (like the oil industry) to account on pricing.

Michael Dugher MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, explained why Labour were pushing for the CMA inquiry:

“Hard-up families and hard-pressed businesses are fed up of feeling like they are being fleeced at the pumps. We know that when oil prices go up, fuel prices go up.  But when oil prices come down, as in recent months, it is not reflected in the prices people pay at the pumps. 

“Britain’s motorists are still paying an average of 118p a litre, even though global oil prices have fallen by more than 40 per cent since July. Organisations have said that petrol should now be at least 7p a litre cheaper than it is.    

“David Cameron is in denial about the cost-of-living crisis – with people on average £1,600 a year worse off since 2010 – and he can always be relied upon to stand up for the wrong people. That’s why he’s failed to act to make sure people are not getting ripped off by the big oil companies.  

“Labour is determined to act to ensure real transparency in the industry and we want to see the Competition and Markets Authority start the process of launching an inquiry into the fuel market in the UK.”