UK DIESEL PRICES.

[Chriskend]

“ I was able to fill up with half a gallon of petrol and a shot of 2 stroke for around 20p”

In reality we all used to put 4 or 5 squirts in the oil tank and pay for one..

 

[Gaius]

Ciao, oggi in Italia € 2,34 al litro

 

[lohr500]

From the news today, it could get worse if the Orange One slaps a ban on USA diesel exports to help protect domestic prices.

If the news reports are correct, it seems as though in the UK we are getting around 31% of our diesel from the USA.

Britain on notice for fuel 'disaster' after Donald Trump threatens diesel export ban at UN

Reform UK has urged Andy Burnham to step in - because 'TikTok videos don’t fill up the car'

www.gbnews.com

 

[Doorbundle]

Cheap Diesel (Ha!) ... Try here, even works for Calais Northern France: www.petrolprices.com

 

[Kenb17]

After all the recent talk about fuel prices I found myself taking a trip down memory lane haha..........

In 1973 when I had my first moped (remember them?) I was able to fill up with half a gallon of petrol and a shot of 2 stroke for around 20p (I also remember around the same time when me and my mate could go down the pub and get a round in (2 pints of best) for 25p)

I also remember when petrol hit £1 a gallon in 1979...... at that point we all said we would give up driving if it ever went higher!

Yet here we are in 2026 paying around £9 a gallon

In each case the Iranians were in the mix......... Deja Vu anybody?

I must be a very similar age, I remember getting a ‘ration book’ in 73 or 74 for the petrol for my moped in case we needed it, we never did. Middle East then too.

 

[blakeley]

On the left is with government taxes , on the right is without !

 

[FivetonesCali]

There’s nothing wrong with it being taxed. That’s how we have an NHS, schools, roads, critical infrastructure etc.

 

[FivetonesCali]

While people are disagreeing with me I may as well add:

- Tax rate at pumps is currently around 44% so 200.9 should become 112.5.

- There’s a windfall tax that should be levelled at the oil companies for profiteering here too.

- that could then be used to reduce electricity prices so our manufacturing base is more internationally competitive (yes, another reason taxes can be beneficial!).

 

[pjm-84]

Depends on how much is being wasted....consulted for a local authority run by Capita (TUPE staff) and sadly temped 2 days for the BBC in my youth.

A contractor for a new school, who I knew well, and had worked with previously, told me that they offered a 20week reduction on the new build programme, and the resultant savings on the prelims (about 350k back in 2010) but it was rejected and he couldn't understand why.

Simple....if you run to a private industry expectation , the public sector cant achieve the same expectation (why do you think I was there), its government money, so its 350k on a £5.7m school, its makes no difference, it will still be built. Similarly if the project has a 20week overrun period built in, its very difficult, but not impossible to be late on completion. Therefore the "successful" project was completed on time and as the budget is also inflated, on budget. So a £5m project becomes a £5.7m project....scale that up and throughout. Contractors know this. Its a gravy train. Those that step into this world, sometimes struggle to adjust to the different pace.

At the BBC - moved 2 chairs in one day. 7 of us went to move 11 chairs, 15ft across a room, from one side to the other on direction of staff there, who were not allowed to move the chairs. I picked up 2 and was told off and had to leave one in the middle of the room. Paid 10hrs and sent home at 3pm as nothing really happens after this time (nothing really happened before) - paid to 7pm

Second time was a trip to pick up some film. Took all day, 2 of us, and I wont bore you with the time wasting. Black cab left to wait came to £48 in 1986 (£150 in today's money)......I could have picked the film up but had to put it on a trolley....got back around 3pm. Wrong film. That's alright, we can nip back now......nope too late, you're going home, I 'll sign you out for 7pm.....

 

[FivetonesCali]

You’ve banged this drum before. There’s waste in every single organisation and company on the planet.

To your point, one way the government wastes massive amounts of money is paying overpriced consultants and contractors…

 

[pjm-84]

Agree but the waste is not allowed to be scrutinized in the public sector, ...its accepted, its par for the course, its within the environment and of course its always underfunded.....there is never enough money. On the other foot, there is always whataboutery........... to deflect

I'm happy to have a conversation about frameworks that the government operates and the poor performance of large private service providers....how long have you got and have far do you want to go back.

 

[FivetonesCali]

That’s not been my personal experience in the public sector but no-one needs to take our experiences as examples. There’s plenty of books exposing how money is wasted on people like Serco and Capita and pointing at the pockets lined in the process.

I don’t think you know what ‘whataboutery’ means, if you did you’d see your examples are the very definition of the concept.

Shall we get back to the topic? I’m happy to.

 

[pjm-84]

The topic was cost of fuel and the tax applied to it.

You seemed to be defending it and saying this is how "schools" and essential infrastructure were built.....sadly that my specialist field. 40years......

I was saying where it was wasted based on experience, I didn't go into other projects, or incompetence which put 100s of people lives at risk and came to light after the death of two fire officers, and you jumped on the well look over there. Just imagine if it wasn't wasted. We could have more schools, more infrastructure ? Better service....


Anyway happy to move on....

 

[Chriskend]

Doesn’t matter….fuels too expensive full stop

 

[stoobthealien]

It would make sense in this crazy volatile world to treat fuel duty like income tax - not to apply a cut across the board but reduce the % amount when fuel goes over a certain average price to account for the fact that it was never designed for this sort of world

 

[pjm-84]

Doesn’t matter….fuels too expensive full stop

Yep I filled up my Volvo XC70 yesterday and it clicked off at £138 (for a car).....just glad I wasn't filling up a Volvo HGV at a motorway service station

 

[lohr500]

Right now I am feeling quite smug that our other car has recently been replaced by an electric one.

We've just been to Leek and back in it this week for my daughter's wedding. Averaged 3.5 miles per kWh, over the 185 mile round trip.

So 53kWh electricity used, at a cost of around £0.06 per kWh charged at home on our EV tariff allowing for some energy loss during the charging process gives a direct fuel cost £3.18.
Then there is £1.06 cashback from PodPoint rewards for home charging during their off-peak period which matches our EV tariff off-peak window. So the return journey cost £2.12 in "fuel" costs.

The same journey in the old car, a diesel Mokka, which did 50mpg if driven carefully, would have cost £32.59 based on diesel at £1.94 a litre.

Of course, it's not a direct comparison as the home charger installation cost us nearly £1000 and the depreciation on the new car will be a big hit over the next few years compared to running a 13 year old Mokka!!

That being said, even if VW did come up with an all electric Cali Ocean, we will be sticking with our 204 4Motion diesel for some time to come.

For long distance touring overseas and travelling around the rural parts of the UK off the beaten track , I can do without worrying about where the next fast EV charging station will be and if it will be working when I get there!!

 

[Bigphatwhale]

Not wishing to rub salt in to an open wound…drove from the border to Blairgowrie and back in the Tesla around 340mls, cost me a whopping £6.80 on cheap rate.

But does your Tesla have a kitchen?

 

[Chriskend]

But does your Tesla have a kitchen?

Unfortunately not, that’s why I have the Cali

 

[Mansfieldman750]

While I’m doing predictions, if the Strait of Hormuz reopens diesel prices will be lower.
If it doesn’t they’ll be higher.
When will that be, haven’t a clue.

 

[Barbara]

I must be a very similar age, I remember getting a ‘ration book’ in 73 or 74 for the petrol for my moped in case we needed it, we never did. Middle East then too.

I remember too. Those books were old ones reissued, originally produced for Suez Crisis of 1956. If I remember right you had to get your employer to say you needed fuel to get to work to get a book.

Also sometime later in the 70s it was difficult to fuel unless you were a regular at a garage. I think there may have been a restriction on how much you could have. We had an account with a garage and always went to the same one. Also getting a supplier for oil for heating was almost impossible we had a new house and had coal central heating put in as it was easier to get coal than oil. We had no gas in the village.

 

[acer]

I remember too. Those books were old ones reissued, originally produced for Suez Crisis of 1956. If I remember right you had to get your employer to say you needed fuel to get to work to get a book.

Also sometime later in the 70s it was difficult to fuel unless you were a regular at a garage. I think there may have been a restriction on how much you could have. We had an account with a garage and always went to the same one. Also getting a supplier for oil for heating was almost impossible we had a new house and had coal central heating put in as it was easier to get coal than oil. We had no gas in the village.

I don’t remember all of that grownup stuff, but I do remember power cuts and murder in the dark. (For the benefit of younger forumites and our European members, I should explain that this was a game, not a criminal activity).

 

[Chriskend]

Reading some of the posts above…..I’m starting to feel young again

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

Having just filled up with fuel at Costco Bristol at £1.87 litre, 30 miles down the M5 at the BP services it was an eye watering £2.17.9 litre. Question, should l buy shares in BP?View attachment 152141

I think you’ll find Motorway prices are a lot more expensive than what you’d find locally.
Certainly in France I always refuel at a supermarket off the Autoroute. Strangely enough in Italy prices are similar. In Morocco the prices are controlled by the government.

 

[Saesneg Shaun]

Just returned from a trip around the Netherlands. Cheapest we could find there was 2.56 euros, their motorways were 2.86!
Just driven back from Folkestone and suddenly £2/L seemed not so bad.