Fishermen are ready to lead attack on escalating fuel prices
Protest organisers have not ruled out a blockade of Grangemouth oil refinery
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FISHERMEN are ready to lead the latest attack on sky-high fuel prices, aiming to achieve “maximum impact” in a campaign that could lead to a blockade of ports.
Farmers and hauliers have also been urged to band together in a bid to force the government to take action.
The moves came as fuel prices appeared to hit Scottish motor dealers who reported 1,000 fewer sales of new cars than at the same time in 2007.
Tanker drivers are also set to strike for four days after talks aimed at resolving a row over pay broke down yesterday, threatening disruption to petrol supplies across the UK.
Scottish fishermen will take part in Europe-wide protests on Monday as industry anger mounts over the cost of fuel.
A fuel action group set up in Inverness just a few weeks ago warned yesterday that its members could resort to blockading ports.
Spokesman Ross Skinner said nothing could be ruled out.
He would not reveal details of what was being planned, saying the group wanted to achieve “maximum impact”, but confirmed there would be participation in Monday’s protests in “some shape or form”.
Last week, the group threatened to blockade Aberdeen harbour and the Grangemouth oil refinery to highlight their cause.
The action group is asking fishermen and their supporters to send copies of a fact sheet outlining the industry’s case to government departments and media outlets.
The fuel action group represents more than 500 Scottish fishing boats, according to Mallaig and North-West Fishermen’s Association chairman John MacAlister, who said yesterday that talks on the protest strategy were taking place with fishing organisations across the UK.
Mr Skinner, the association’s vice-chairman, said politicians and the public were still unaware of the serious effects that escalating fuel prices were having on the fishing industry.
He added that UK Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw’s refusal earlier this week to make any concessions had angered fishermen.
Rising fuel costs are hitting all businesses and the public, Mr Skinner said, but fishermen should be considered a special case.
“We can’t pass on the fuel costs as higher prices to customers,” he said. “Fish is sold at auction and prices have not increased in the past 10 years. Fuel costs have doubled in the past year and the industry is close to collapse.”
The president of farming union NFU Scotland is to try to bring farmers, fishermen and hauliers together to force the UK Government to recognise the damage prices are inflicting on the rural economy. Jim McLaren announced the move as he told farmers at Blairgowrie yesterday he saw little immediate benefit in taking fuel protests to the streets.
The militant Britain-wide Farmers for Action has threatened demonstrations if the government fails to act by July.
But Mr McLaren said: “If you are demonstrating, you have to choose the issue you are protesting on carefully. You do not get many opportunities to go on the streets before you are not taken seriously.”
He said he would contact First Minister Alex Salmond in an attempt to broker the meeting.
“To have three of the main sectors of the rural economy working together would give us far more strength,” he added.
Mr McLaren met Treasury Minister Angela Eagle in London on Wednesday and won a concession from her that any duty increase in the rebated red diesel used by farmers in future would be proportionate to those on conventional fuel. That would mean a 0.33p rise for red diesel if a general increase of 2p is applied to petrol and derv in October. The meeting heard farmers’ diesel costs had surged.
Arable and vegetable grower Ian McLaren, of Cronans, Coupar Angus, said it was now costing him £18 an hour in fuel alone to operate a 230hp tractor. He added: “There was a time not so long ago when we didn’t cost diesel. But it’s now well ahead of labour.”
The fuel crisis also seemed to impact on the number of new cars sold in Scotland last month, which recorded one of the sharpest declines across the UK.
decline
Figures released yesterday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that 14,938 new cars had been registered in Scotland last May, compared with only 13,861 last month.
This decline has been felt in north and north-east garages, which are coming up with ways to try to attract customers.
A representative of Clyne Autos, a Fiat dealership at Peterhead, said: “We had noticed a slight dip in interest as the month progressed. We do offer customers deals to make buying a new car more attractive and allow us to continue hitting our monthly targets.”
The society also found that new registrations of 4x4s last month dipped 18% across the UK, at a time when the government plans to increase road tax for larger vehicles and diesel prices at the pumps are at record highs.
In the Highlands, Dicksons of Inverness, which sells Nissan and Kia vehicles, has seen interest in 4x4s fall.
Sales executive David Gray said: “As a whole we are slightly down on queries regarding our bigger cars. We still seem to be selling cars, in particular the smaller models.”
In Moray, car dealers report that customers are becoming more wary when it comes to buying a new car.
A representative of Ford dealership Macrae and Dick in Elgin said: “I would say there is a slight decrease in sales, but it has not been catastrophic here.
“What we are seeing is people becoming more cautious but we have still been hitting targets and selling plenty of small vehicles.”
