Views
Rural folk bearing brunt of fuel price pain - for The Inverness Courier
PEOPLE all over the Highlands are feeling the pain caused by the huge rise in fuel prices over the last six months.
While government ministers in London may be unaware of the real consequences, people in rural areas are bearing the brunt. Tomorrow, I will be among a delegation of Highland MPs to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling to raise the huge problems high fuel prices are causing in our area.
The first point I will be making is that in the Highlands, as well as the Islands, we pay higher fuel prices than the rest of the country. And these prices are all the more painful because people here have no choice but to use a car, such is the inadequacy of public transport, and have to travel long distances because of the geography of our area.
Last week the House of Commons was in recess and I spent the time meeting people and businesses all over the Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey area.
Tourism businesses were very concerned that the high prices were putting people off visiting our area. Some people on low incomes - more common in the Highlands than elsewhere - were having to sacrifice other essentials at home in order to run their car.
The government likes to say that this in an international problem, which it is, but there is still a great deal the UK government could do. The first is to allow fuel duty to be cut in remote rural areas.
They do this in France, Portugal and Greece - o we can do it in Britain too. European law would allow a targeted 3p duty cut, and that should be done immediately. I have proposed this in Parliament in the last two finance bills, but Labour and Tory MPs have blocked it. I hope that the result will be different when I raise it again at the end of this month.
The government is proposing a further 2p rise in fuel duty in October. The price rises are already so great that the government is getting a far greater windfall through VAT and those people in big towns and cities who can change their behaviour to pollute less are doing so. In rural areas, we cannot so it is just a tax raid. If the price is as high in October as it is now, the government should suspend this planned rise.
High oil prices is causing real problems for people in heating their home too.
The fuel poverty plan announced last week was pathetic - it will make hardly a dent on the huge numbers who cannot afford to heat their homes in winter. The government should be forcing energy companies to spend the 9 billion windfall that they have from the European emissions trading scheme on making homes cheaper to heat.
They should start with the many rural homes heated by oil, who are facing the highest price rises.
Labour ministers were happy to take the credit when economic times are good. They cannot get away with wringing their hands and blaming world economic conditions. There is plenty that can be done, and it should be done quickly.
A HIDDEN GEM
The progress that has been made to the Merkinch Local Nature Reserve has been remarkably rapid since the idea was first floated by the local community last year. I spent a very enjoyable afternoon last week seeing for myself the plans that will be implemented over the next three years.
The sea wall between the old ferry pier and the canal, and the woodland and tidal marshes and estuary around it are a hidden gem in Inverness. It is remarkable to have an area so rich in nature in the heart of a City. The walks are excellent and the planned path improvements will make a huge difference to accessibility for all.
The local group behind the Reserve, with excellent support from Highland Council, the ranger service, and British Waterways, have plans for regular events and activities. These start on Saturday with the official opening day, with loads going for all ages. I suspect many people in other parts of Inverness will never have explored this area before - get down there on Saturday and see for yourself!
Posted on: 03/06/2008
