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Readers in support of the fuel protests

@Peter Hicks:

I sympathise with the protesters. There does need to be a mass Tea Party-style uprising over the excessive tax this Government levies on the people. We are being oppressed and robbed, its that simple.

"Fuel duty is outrageously excessive and one of many totally unnecessary taxes. Britain will need a low-tax, hard-border revolution to save itself from its spiral of ruin and decay. Not to mention getting rid of 50 per cent or more of the civil service. The biggest cost to economic activity is the Government.

@Richard Lee:

I fully support this. Fuel prices are down to a greedy Government. 20 years ago the protests were about fuel hitting 1 a litre when a barrel of oil was $147. Now, fuel is 2 a litre and a barrel of oil is around $109, all due to tax.

The Government is in control of the price and is wilfully ruining people's lives, and for what? A badly thought-through useless green agenda. This is about the impoverishment and control of the masses.

@Stephen Rees:

My attitude to these protesters is entirely different to that of Insulate Britain protesters. They are protesting against ridiculous fuel prices that are wrecking their livelihoods, in many cases, and causing genuine hardship.

"More to the point, the Government can easily combat this by reducing fuel tax, removing green levies and scrapping VAT on fuel. Some of these may be reinstated when oil prices eventually settle down - but relief of the pain now will help the economy, reduce inflation and win brownie points from the electorate rather than further alienating them.

@Neil Owen:

Whilst I do not condone the action, it is beyond belief that any politician should be surprised by actions such as these by 'ordinary people'. We have had high crude prices before, but the price of everyday fuel has never rocketed like this. A lack of real action by the Government just comes across as them being duplicitous in these events. People will remember this come the election.

@Ricardo Montalban:

Good. The Government could help by reducing the point-of-sale tax taken to that before Russia invaded Ukraine, but it has not done that. Likewise for tax on energy companies, but tax needs to go out to businesses and individuals, not to the Treasury.

Care workers, for example - how are they supposed to make ends meet driving to clients? It is the Government's job to ease disruptions due to economic shocks, not to add to the woe.

@Simon Cox:

They protest at high fuel prices, but cause thousands of motorists to use more fuel in traffic jams across the UK, when the political elite do not suffer at all, so it has no impact on those few individuals who could change things. Other than the newspaper headlines, it's a waste of time, and other people's fuel.

@Dondon JJ:

I'm a little surprised to see so much support for this action, which seems to excuse it purely on the grounds of these people being members of the motorists tribe rather than anything else, and paints a rather sorry picture of modern political allegiances.

@John Vaccaro:

I agree wholeheartedly with the protesters sentiments. However, blocking the motorway network may be counterproductive to the cause of lowering prices. I'd prefer they take the protest directly to Johnson and those in power, whose policies account for around half of the cost of a litre of fuel.

@Gillian Burton:

As much as Ive grown to despise this Government, that I voted for, and all its hot air non-policies, I highly disagree with deliberately bringing the countrys main artery road routes to a standstill as a way to protest. This makes the grinning gentleman in the van and his accomplices no better than Extinction Rebellion.

@Peter Miles:

What do these people actually want? They blame the Government, but it's not the Government which sets the price of fuel. That price is set by the retailers who, in turn, have to reflect wholesale prices which are rising due to Putin starting a war among other reasons.

I suppose some would say that the Chancellor should reduce or remove the duty on fuel, but then what? Protests at the rise in income tax needed to make that loss up, or maybe reduce expenditure on the NHS or benefits?

In reality, the protesters are just a tiny minority moaning they want something done without suggesting what, while making life difficult for everyone else.

Link:
'We need a Tea Party-style uprising': Fuel protests divide opinion among Telegraph readers - The Telegraph