It’s outrageous we pay so much to fill up our cars
PETROL and diesel prices are unfair and the motorist is badly treated by the oil companies and the Government (Mail).
In 2013, the oil price hit a recent high of $120 a barrel and petrol rose in line to reach around 140p per litre. Today, a barrel of oil is just below $80, but petrol costs at least 130p a litre.
We are being ripped off on the basis that we will pay whatever it takes. It is time to hit back at greedy suppliers.
This has already been done with the supermarkets, with shoppers abandoning traditional stores in favour of the cheaper Lidl and Aldi. Could motorists exert similar pressure on fuel suppliers?
ROBERT BISHOP, Billingshurst, W. Sussex. CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond suggests the eight-year freeze on fuel duty could come to an end in order to fund the shortfall in funding for the NHS (Mail).
Has he considered making those who do not qualify for free NHS treatment pay upfront? MICHAEL SCHOFIELD,
Rotherham, S. Yorks. WHY shouldn’t petrol prices be increased to help pay for increased NHS spending?
Under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the cost of motoring fell in real terms, with fuel taxes being frozen.
Meanwhile, bus and rail fares have continued to rise by more than inflation. If we are serious about helping the environment, we can’t afford to encourage people to use cars.
TIM MICKLEBURGH, Grimsby. INSTEAD of the Chancellor increasing fuel tax, he should hike the duty on alcohol and tobacco.
If such a move reduced tax revenue because consumption dropped, the positive effect would be a reduction in NHS costs. ALAN GLENISTER,
Bushey, Herts. REMOVING the freeze on fuel duty will increase the price of all goods moved by road. I am all in favour of raising money for the NHS: scrapping HS2 and reducing overseas aid should do the job. MIC DANIEL, Mirfield, W. Yorks.
Sepsis danger
THANK you for your sepsis campaign. I have learned more from the Mail than doctors.
I had sepsis after being bitten by a dog and was not expected to live. I spent eight days in intensive care and three weeks in rehab learning how to walk again.
Last week, I was in a stroke unit. The Mail has written about the high incidence of strokes and heart failure following recovery from sepsis, but I was not warned of this risk by my doctors. JENNIFER GOODCHILD,
Essex.
Strengthen marriage
THE Government is rushing to overhaul divorce to make it easier. Perhaps many people would prefer to see Parliament taking action to strengthen marriage, which is the bedrock of a healthy society.
J. LONGSTAFF, Buxted, E. Sussex.
Project Fear nonsense
ON ROLLS Project Fear with Jaguar Land Rover threatening to move its operations to eastern Europe. JLR opened manufacturing plants in China and Brazil well before the Brexit referendum.
The threat that UK citizens would not be able to take their dogs on holiday to Europe is disingenuous. The only requirement for a dog or cat to travel to the EU is that it must have an approved, up-to- date certificate of rabies vaccination.
The complicated pet passport was instigated by the UK.
Project Fear is just the Millennium Bug all over again.
FRED LEES, Great Wyrley, Staffs.
Invest in the UK
RUTH SUNDERLAND’S article on Redcar (City & Finance) struck a chord with me.
When the steelworks closed three years ago, I knew one of the many employees who lost his job, along with all he had worked for. The only job he could get was driving a bus, but this didn’t cover the mortgage, so he lost his home.
For more than ten years I have travelled around North Yorkshire and seen some of its deprived areas. I think Brexit offers a chance for more investment in the UK, so despite not having a lot of spare cash, I have invested in the Sirius mining project on the North York Moors.
EILEEN LACEY, Whitby, N. Yorks.
Home truths
BANK of England Governor Mark Carney’s prediction that house prices could fall by 35 per cent after a no- deal Brexit is great news for the millions who are unable to afford to buy a house.
Britain’s housing situation is not sustainable and it was inevitable that the bubble would burst.
People who have mortgages can obviously afford to pay the current house prices and are the relatively few who will miss out. J. MICHAEL LEATHER,
Onchan, Isle of Man.
Power play
SMASHING your children’s iPads, as Kirstie Allsopp has done (Mail), will achieve nothing positive.
I have a simpler method of restricting screen time while teaching the life skill of how to plan.
Set a weekly charging time and then lock away the chargers. If the iPads shut down before the next charge because your children have spent too much time on screen, they’ve only themselves to blame.
GLORIA FISHER, Cowes, Isle of Wight.