Labour call for investigation into fuel prices

The Labour party are calling on the government to investigate the discrepancy between petrol prices across the country.

The appeal was made by Iain McKenzie, Labour MP for Inverclyde in Scotland, who believes that the confusing nature of fuel pricing is damaging to the consumer, with prices in his constituency alone fluctuating by up to 4p per litre.

Writing for Yahoo News after raising the matter in parliament, Mr McKenzie said “The opaque way in which fuel is priced means it is hard to get to the bottom of why these variations exist. We are led to believe this is due to an intense pump price battle between supermarkets and some independent retailers.

“Yet, the rapid growth of supermarket forecourts has meant many independent and even oil company owned petrol stations have had to close, killing off competition.”

Labour want the Competition and Market Authority to launch an investigation into forecourt fuel prices to give motorists a better idea of the true costs of their diesel and petrol, making the market more competitive.

Mr McKenzie also asserted that many independent fuel retailers have had to close in recent years because large supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda are now dominating the market and ending competition.

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