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View From The Street - The Real Cost of Rising Fuel · The Discussion Podcast

0:00
James Spencer is on the line with a brand new episode of View From The Street.
0:04
He's been without me today, but he's been out on the streets of Ultringham. James, how are you?
0:09
Yeah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron. How are you doing? I'm very well. I'm very well indeed.
0:14
The weather out there is not great, is it, James? No, I think you dodged a bullet
0:20
staying inside. You got lucky with that.
0:23
I dodged a bullet. I'll let you off today. Were there many bullets flying around
0:27
the streets of Ultringham? Were there many people?
0:30
No, not as busy as always.
0:34
But we managed to get people, which was good. And Jamie helped me.
0:38
He didn't want to talk too much. He helped me with the intro,
0:41
and he also gave some feedback on everything. He's saying that I need to wear
0:45
a T-shirt, saying Radio Alty. It'll break down some barriers.
0:49
He goes, you need to wear your shirt. Well, Jamie is a sensible guy.
0:53
I believe I've given you a T-shirt which says Radio Alty in the past, so you should be...
0:58
You should be branded up there. You should be branded up.
1:02
Anyway, good luck, Jamie. We're going to record a special episode of Theatre
1:06
of Dreams tonight with you two guys.
1:09
But on the topic of fuel from the street today, you asked people about fuel prices. Yeah, exactly.
1:17
And to be fair, James, fuel prices are moving around all over the place,
1:23
and they are significant now, aren't they?
1:25
Yeah and it's a it's a i think it's,
1:29
a it's a fairly good topic because it's something that has changed it's something
1:33
that's affecting people and there's quite a few diesel users out there such as yourself and,
1:38
there are also people who have electric and there are also people taking all
1:41
the transport so in that sense it's a good topic yeah and um,
1:45
i mean it's now getting to the point where you know it can cost even for a moderate
1:51
car can cost 60 quid to fill it up.
1:55
And some of the larger cars can cost them over £100. And I do think people are starting to
2:01
to consider you know the the journeys they're making and the price of the price
2:06
that will be on fuel really i think so yeah i think i think the main people
2:09
that i think the main people that's affecting is people that,
2:12
do the shorter journeys that do a lot of short journeys so you're thinking of
2:16
people who are parents that have to keep uh picking their children up and going
2:19
to and from and tend themselves to work those are the people who have gone from
2:23
probably filling up once a week to now filling up twice a week,
2:26
i was just looking at i mean at the moment And I think a price,
2:31
is it that diesel is slightly cheaper than petrol? Is that right?
2:35
No, it's the opposite. Is it the opposite? Diesel's more. Diesel's more. Yes, exactly.
2:39
Yeah, so today I think we went past the petrol station at S&A,
2:42
and the petrol had gone down very slightly to 17 pence a litre,
2:46
but it was normally 19 pence a litre, and the diesel is more 19.
2:50
Not 19 pence. So I've got it here. The petrol, all that petrol is 172.7 pence a litre.
2:56
Yeah, that's right. So 1.72 and diesel is around about 198.5.
3:03
Yeah, that's what I meant. That's what you meant. That's what I'm saying.
3:05
That's what you're saying. That's what I'm saying. There you go. That's what I'm saying.
3:10
That's what I'm saying. And I mean, I'm looking here at the sort of the history
3:15
of price changes. And it was actually in 2008.
3:20
Petrol crossed the £1 litre mark for the first time.
3:25
I'm surprised it was back then. So back in the 90s, you were paying about 40p
3:31
for a litre of petrol, roughly.
3:34
2008, it went up to the £1 per litre mark. And then in 2012, it went up to 142.
3:41
And then it dropped in the pandemic, interestingly.
3:45
It dropped during 2020 to 113. and now as we say it's record levels and the
3:51
problem is james this this this impacts so many people from so many different
3:55
walks of life yeah it does i think it's i think that,
4:00
i think had i had you on the street today i probably wouldn't have brought the
4:03
war element into it but i think i think context is important so that's the bit
4:07
that jamie didn't really want to speak about but that's the reason why it's,
4:11
happening and i think it's also interesting that a war so far away in The Middle
4:15
East is affecting so many people.
4:17
That's what I think is interesting. I guess ultimately it's a supply and demand situation.
4:22
And given where the wars are.
4:29
You can understand, even if it does frustrate you, about the impact it has on
4:36
fuel. But did anybody talk about the UK's almost 100% reliance on fuel?
4:42
On fuel from other nations, from other places.
4:46
It crossed my mind, and I didn't say that, but it did cross my mind that we are needing them, yeah.
4:51
Yeah, because it's not just obviously about cars, it's about heating our homes,
4:57
and then the issue there is you'll have people who are at home all the time,
5:00
especially the elderly, and they're thinking about, well, you know,
5:05
can I afford to put on the heating at the moment? You know, does my pension cover it?
5:09
And then you realize it's not just about the efficiency of getting around.
5:14
It's actually about living in a comfortable way.
5:17
It is exactly. Other people touched on that as well. But it's about the price
5:21
of gas is higher from Russia.
5:22
So therefore, prices have gone up across the board, even for electricity and
5:27
gas at home. So people who are elderly are going to be affected.
5:30
And then obviously, as we said, people who are car users and people who are
5:33
diesel users. So there's more people who are affected than others.
5:37
And it can affect those people who are in lower income bracket sometimes more
5:45
because they're often the ones who are traveling lots.
5:50
For example, say somebody is a care worker, they're traveling a lot.
5:55
And of course, manufacturing and agriculture as well.
5:58
And we know the margins are tight at the moment. So these fuel rises,
6:03
which we have no control over, can be the difference between making a profit
6:08
and making a loss in some ways.
6:10
Yeah, exactly. And I think that I'm actually surprised, though,
6:13
that we haven't seen more government intervention in terms of any types of intervention,
6:18
whether that's trying to lower prices for other things.
6:23
Or I know obviously that Andy Burnham trusted the two pound cap on buses,
6:27
but he's done that quite a lot anyway.
6:29
So we're talking about more measures that will reduce prices and I think more
6:35
awareness on all of this as well and schemes to support people.
6:38
Well, let's get into it. Let's hear from the people of Old Tringham or a few from the street today.
6:43
Fuel prices is the topic. James, we'll be back with you.
6:47
In a little while. You're listening to the Late Late Lunch Show on Radio Alty.
6:52
Good afternoon, everybody. This is James Spencer on V from the Street on Radio
6:55
Alty. And joining me today, guest starring Jamie Larby. Jamie,
6:58
how are you doing today, mate?
6:59
I'm doing all right. I'm doing all right, James. Thanks for having me on this.
7:02
Yeah, looking forward to it.
7:04
Oh, good. Thanks for joining us. And today is a very wet and rainy Altrincham.
7:08
So I see commitment from you here today.
7:11
Yeah, man. Yeah, just coming out. The weather, didn't plan for it.
7:14
But yeah, now that we're here might as well make make the most of it yeah and
7:18
are you enjoying your time in manchester yeah it's been brilliant so far manchester is beautiful,
7:23
yeah i came for the football game and yeah i mean not not too good results for
7:27
man united but i mean we're still in manchester enjoying this beautiful city so yeah yeah.
7:32
And this is altringham so this is greater manchester but it's it's a very nice
7:36
spot actually and when we've normally asked people for their views on things
7:40
altringham is never short of a view so,
7:43
today in the rain do you think people will stop and try and talk to us do you think,
7:47
yeah i mean i think people are always looking for people to talk to and,
7:51
probably with the weather people might be in a hurry to go home but i'm sure
7:54
we can get a few people to like share the views about i mean
7:59
the use on the show yeah yeah this is going to be a challenge i'm looking forward
8:01
to it and today's topic is about the increase in petrol and diesel prices and subsequently
8:08
for flights as well.
8:09
Do you think that the price is not just for petrol and oil, do you think it's
8:14
gone out of control, Jamie?
8:15
I mean, just for a bit of context, I saw an ad on social media about like a
8:21
parent blaming or telling the kid, like, why haven't you got a house yet?
8:26
And then the kid was like, well, this is 2000, this is 2026.
8:31
It's not in the mid nineties where a house was like, what, 5,000 pounds or 10,000
8:36
pounds or even maybe more, a bit less than that.
8:39
And so things have really, really changed. And obviously with fuel as well.
8:43
I mean, the price today was really high today, man, just as compared to that.
8:48
So just for a bit of context, I feel like the full price really,
8:51
really, really has had a bearing on life as we know it.
8:55
Because of the cost of living comes with all attending other courses because
8:59
fuel really, really controls every other part of life. So I feel like it is
9:03
a really important thing to talk about.
9:06
Yeah. And I think the crazy thing is, is that our people in Ultingham connected
9:10
with the political and economic repercussions from the war in the Middle East,
9:15
the Straits of Hormuz being blocked and Trump's politics as to why prices have risen so sharply.
9:21
And now people have less in their pockets because it's just amazing that something
9:25
on a worldwide scale has affected people even on a local level.
9:29
Yeah, I mean, I'm not too informed on the macro, and I don't want to speak so
9:34
much on the political level, but yeah, there is a lot of things going on in
9:38
the mainstream world that affects people on the micro scale.
9:42
So I think it's important that each and every person, especially in Altrium,
9:46
knows what's going on so that they can also see how it affects them personally.
9:51
I think it does have a bearing on their life, yeah. Awesome.
9:54
And on that note, let's get stuck in and see what the people of Altrium have to say.
9:58
Good afternoon, madam. It's James Spencer and Jamie Larby on View from the Street,
10:01
exclusive on Radio Alty. Wow, it's windy today. So we just wanted to ask you
10:04
very quickly about the rise in petrol. And you said you have a diesel car.
10:08
Have you noticed how sharply it's risen lately? Well, the last time I filled
10:12
my tank, I definitely noticed it was far more expensive than previously.
10:16
I think last time it cost me at least £100. I didn't even get full.
10:20
I didn't even feel my tank looked full. So yes, I've definitely noticed it.
10:25
And are you surprised by, I assume that the reason is obviously the war in the Middle East.
10:30
And are you surprised that something over there is affecting everybody on such a big scale?
10:36
I mean, I suppose it is surprising that you feel it at this end.
10:40
But then when you listen to the news, I suppose it explains that it's not all that surprising.
10:44
But yeah, I mean, it is pretty shocking that we feel at this end of things, I suppose.
10:49
Yeah. And just quickly, did you have to change your habits at all with Diesel?
10:53
I think you just said you didn't. I think because I've got like a big diesel
10:56
engine, I don't fill up my tank that often.
10:58
But then I suppose because it's been that long since I last filled it up,
11:01
you know, I filled it up last week and I noticed that it had sharply,
11:05
the price has gone up considerably from my perspective. But luckily,
11:09
as I say, I don't have to fill up the tank as often these days.
11:12
So good afternoon, sir. This is Jay Spencer and also Jamie Larby on View From
11:15
The Street on Radio Alti today.
11:17
And so today we're asking about the increase in petrol prices and diesel prices.
11:21
I just wondered, is that something that's affected you at all?
11:23
It's not affected me personally because I have an electric vehicle.
11:26
So yeah, I don't have to go to the pump, unfortunately, to fill up.
11:29
Okay. So you're relieved about that, I take it? Very relieved,
11:32
yeah. It was a good decision.
11:33
It's not, an EV is not necessarily the cheapest new car to buy,
11:37
but I think the payback over a few years is definitely worth it.
11:40
When did you make that change, by the way? in june 2024 that was it came at
11:45
a good time then before maybe the prices have gone up.
11:49
Yes i think so yeah i mean i think there's always a desire to,
11:52
have a more sort of green way of driving so so i think it wasn't necessarily driven by,
11:59
price as much as yeah desire to move away from fuel anyway okay are you surprised
12:05
at how expensive of petrol diesel are now?
12:08
I'm not overly surprised given what's happening globally and clearly the war
12:14
in Iran and the impact it's having. So no, I'm not overly surprised, no.
12:18
And last question, do you think that it's just going to continue going up?
12:22
You don't see it changing anytime soon?
12:24
Not anytime soon, no. I think it will depend upon the war in Iran and when the
12:29
president decides his board of it and it's had enough. I think until that point,
12:33
I think the prices will continue to say high.
12:35
I'm Adam, it's Jane Spencer on View From The Street on Radio Alty.
12:38
I just want to ask you, has the increase in petrol and diesel prices affected you?
12:42
Yes, it has. It's affected me a lot because I do lots of short journeys. I live locally.
12:48
It's about six miles, seven miles. And so short journeys, if you're on the motorway, it's not so bad.
12:53
And lots of school drop-offs, two school drop-offs in the morning.
12:57
And I would say that I'm putting double the amount of fuel in my car a week.
13:01
So yeah. So you're filling up often and also paying more and paying often.
13:05
Yeah, paying more. Yeah.
13:07
So I would usually put £30 in and that would last me at least seven days.
13:12
And now I'm needing to put £30 in every five days, I'd say. Great.
13:17
Yeah. And have you had to like make any changes to your budgeting or lifestyle
13:21
elsewhere because of that?
13:22
Well, I think I started to do that, you know, maybe a year ago,
13:26
two years ago, probably.
13:28
Cutting back on things like takeaway coffees. I bring my own lunch to work,
13:32
I don't buy lunch, you know, in Marks and Spencers or wherever you buy your
13:36
sandwiches from, I bring it with me now.
13:39
All little things but trying to because there's not that many things you can
13:43
cut back on your heating and your electricity you can't cut back on your food
13:48
you can't cut back on family meals so yeah so,
13:52
eating out I don't really eat out anymore very rarely so little things like
13:57
that less money for the nice things I guess the clothes and shoes and.
14:02
Nice things okay last question it kind of needs to go so are you going to stick
14:06
with a diesel car then or is it something that you might have to change?
14:10
I wouldn't be able to afford an electric car so I'll be sticking with the diesel
14:14
car for now because I don't have an alternative to that.
14:19
So good afternoon sir this is Jamie Spencer on View From The Street exclusively
14:22
on Radio Alti and we're just chatting to you just now or we're about to hear
14:25
I haven't heard yet but you have a diesel car so have you been surprised by
14:30
the increase in prices and how has it affected you?
14:33
It's significantly increased the cost of my journey to work each day so I drive,
14:38
less than eight miles but yeah filling up the tank has gone from once a month
14:42
to once every couple of weeks and,
14:44
it's less money to spend on other things yeah and have you had to cut back elsewhere
14:48
then because of that yeah absolutely yeah so it's.
14:52
Obviously wider picture right now but everything's a lot more expensive but
14:55
certainly the cost of fuel has had a significant impact so yeah absolutely you
14:58
have to reduce the cost of what we're spending on other things,
15:00
are you going to keep driving then and keep driving diesel or have you had to
15:03
think of other things you might have to do in the future well for now yes keep
15:07
driving because my wife needs to get to work i need to get to work school run
15:10
drop off my youngest at nursery so don't really have another option at this point,
15:14
but longer term yeah we're going to move away from a diesel car that's glam
15:18
to see what the alternatives are any downside there's a lot of question marks
15:22
about the sustainability of electric cars in terms of their batteries and life
15:25
but yeah can't continue with diesel what's that option
15:27
last question are you surprised by the war in the mid in the middle east that's
15:31
gone on for so long and how it's affected everybody on such a wide scale
15:35
i think i'd be naive of me to comment on
15:38
that because i don't think i'm probably involved well enough,
15:41
let's talk about the ongoing impact of that so i'd rather not comment other than to say,
15:46
i think it's just difficult for everyone right now and i don't really know how people are managing.
15:49
Good afternoon, sir. This is James Spencer on View from the Street on Radio Alti.
15:53
I just wanted to ask you, the increase in fuel prices for diesel and petrol,
15:56
is it something that's affected you at all? Yeah, definitely.
15:58
It's affected us on the flight cost.
16:01
So it's been increased like, I would say like 30% minimum in the flight.
16:07
And this has affected, of course, our budget on the traveling and overall budget has been affected.
16:13
So you travel less because Because of that now? Yeah, we travel less effectively. Yeah.
16:17
And you said that you have an electric car. So you're not affected in that way.
16:21
Not affected on the fuel price, but the electricity price has been increased
16:25
as well. I mean, in the last contract renewal, I think I faced like 20% increase.
16:31
Even now, is it without VAT? But I didn't see the, I mean, the reduction,
16:37
even the VAT has been removed as per the new rule.
16:40
The price has increased as well for electricity.
16:44
And obviously, the situation in the Middle East has meant that the prices have
16:49
increased. As someone from the Middle East, do you have an opinion on that?
16:52
I'm working in oil and gas, so it's my work. Yeah, of course.
16:58
I mean, this is the main reason, and I understand why. And also,
17:02
the Russian war also has a big effect on the price of the fuels.
17:07
It's unpredicted, I would say, and there's no easy solution.
17:12
And last question, do you think that the world is in a more unstable place than it's been before?
17:16
Yeah, definitely, definitely, definitely. And it's been like this since a long time.
17:21
Actually, I used to work in oil and gas for like 15 years, and now I'm working
17:25
in the renewable energy.
17:26
I think what's happening now, it's the main reason, I mean, or justification
17:31
or any investment in renewable energy.
17:33
I mean, especially here in the UK, I mean, we cannot rely on oil and gas because
17:37
at the end, this is coming from outside.
17:40
We know there's something in the North Sea, but it doesn't fulfill the full
17:43
requirement in the country.
17:45
So the other way we have to invest in renewable energy, make the power supplied
17:49
internally, even if it's highly cost, but at least you'll be independent from
17:54
the overseas problem like what happened in the Russian war and in the Middle East.
18:01
So good afternoon, everybody. It's Jay Spencer on Radio Alty on View From The
18:05
Street. And with us is Sammy. And Sammy is going to give us his view today on
18:09
the rise in petrol and diesel prices. So Sammy, I just wanted to know,
18:12
what's your view on this?
18:13
Well, it's always been a sort of bone of contention, if you like.
18:18
My dad and we were eight kids, so we had quite a big family to look after.
18:25
Two jobs. And I remember when he used to fill his tank, and he'd come in and
18:30
he says, you know, one day it's going to be a pound a gallon.
18:34
And we were thinking, what, really? A whole pound for a gallon?
18:38
And if you think about that in today's terms, it's like two pounds for one litre.
18:43
So a gallon was four litres, eight pints, the old imperial gallon.
18:50
But it's always been something.
18:54
Since I was motoring, people say, oh, don't get it here, get it there.
18:58
It's four pence cheaper.
19:01
So it might only be a few pence, but people want the best bargain.
19:06
And of course, if you're a taxi driver or a business, anything like that,
19:09
at the end of the week, it's a substantial amount.
19:14
Everything seems to be not just petrol but the power companies you know,
19:20
people haven't had their heating on for so long because of the good weather,
19:24
so they're not getting the money in and who knows they might be thinking of
19:28
other ways to get it in you know well,
19:32
most people they don't put the heating on unless they really have to you know
19:35
and that's a sad state of affairs you know so good afternoon madam this is Jay
19:40
Spencer on View from the Street for Radio Alty.
19:43
And I just wanted to ask you about the increase in the petrol and diesel prices.
19:46
Is it something that's affected you at all?
19:48
Or how much has it affected you? For petrol, no.
19:51
For other things, yes. It's affecting a lot because, you know,
19:56
the government's not putting up money more.
20:00
And then you're getting, like, shopping. It goes up a pound here,
20:04
a pound there. It mounts up. Yes.
20:06
And flights. I've noticed this year the flights have gone up pretty steep.
20:11
Two to three hundred pound per person on the flights to what it was before.
20:18
But, yeah, I think it has an effect. it's affected everyone I feel sorry for
20:23
the older people what have to suffer so yeah,
20:27
I do and you would even say that even moves into what our friend Sammy mentioned
20:32
about electricity and for prices for home the electricity it's,
20:38
it's bad I only put the gas on for a bit and I'm spending five pound,
20:44
in that day it has gone up very steep and pay as you go so it's pretty it harder for me.
20:50
I'm not on a contract or anything, but it is, especially if you haven't got
20:55
the money and you try and go on emergency credit, after that,
20:59
that's gone and you still have to pay it back.
21:02
You know, I've tried to go on cheaper, but, you know, they tend to keep you,
21:08
you know, in the same thing. But yeah, I think definitely the gas,
21:12
electric, fuel, everything.
21:16
Think so something you are you surprised about the the war in the middle east
21:21
affecting so many people on such a scale well it's not just the middle east
21:24
is it it's russia and america and i'm not surprised at all and of course uh.
21:31
I think the composting engines had its day we're going to be looking at more
21:35
and more electric cars now,
21:37
we'll be waving goodbye to petrol and that i expect you know perfect and last
21:42
question Sammy in terms of,
21:45
these diesel prices and petrol prices do you think that we might see more people
21:49
taking public transport definitely that's what's going to happen yeah not just because of the,
21:56
the saving on the cost but really you don't need a car a car is a hassle yeah,
22:02
trying to get parked and even just trying to drive on these congested side streets and all that.
22:07
Especially a city like Manchester with the excellent, excellent calm.
22:13
The Metro Service, you know, you don't really need a car. It's kind of supplisting requirements.
22:18
Last question, madam, if you don't mind. And that is, do you think that in terms
22:21
of the petrol and diesel prices, we know about the war in the Middle East,
22:25
but do you think that the government should do more to try to make it more affordable for people?
22:30
Yes, they should have it affordable because they say, you know,
22:35
like electric, electric cars.
22:37
They say, oh, electric is better.
22:40
But not really. If you're stranded somewhere, how are you supposed to use electric?
22:46
With a gas, I've seen the fuel signs in every supermarket and it has gone up pretty steep.
22:54
So I feel sorry for people who haven't got cars. I haven't got cars,
22:57
but I feel sorry for people who have. Especially for diesel.
23:00
That has gone up more than the gas. So yeah, I think it is.
23:05
Okay. So there we have it guys. So overall, it sounded like a lot of people
23:11
were affected by, and they have noticed the sharp rise in prices for petrol, especially diesel.
23:19
What also was interesting though, was that people either had electric car,
23:25
so they were not directly affected by that or they were able to not drive and.
23:32
Take public transport but it was definitely interesting to know that,
23:36
people have had to change their habits they've had to maybe fuel up more on
23:41
diesel more often as well as pay more often especially if they have children
23:45
and they're making school runs and there was definitely at least a couple of
23:48
people where that applied to them,
23:50
and perhaps they've had to make
23:52
cost cutting in other areas so that was interesting They also accept that,
23:57
the war in the Middle East is outside of their control.
24:01
So therefore, if the prices are increasing, then it's only something that's
24:05
probably going to continue.
24:08
So those were some very valid points. And obviously, there's also the case of
24:13
flying, having to go on less holidays or plan differently.
24:18
Perhaps people are having to take holidays more regionally.
24:21
And I think that's also very interesting about petrol and diesel prices is one
24:25
thing, but gas in itself is also raising prices for fuel, sorry,
24:30
raising prices for home costs for electricity and gas at home.
24:36
So that was all very interesting and clearly it has affected a lot of people and continues to do so.
24:43
And the other important key point is how can the government help or what support
24:48
schemes or mechanisms can local government or national government do to help
24:53
people support them financially with the cost of living as well as.
24:58
Maybe bringing those prices down elsewhere in order to help people have more money in their pocket.
25:04
I thought it was some very interesting points.
25:08
So that wraps up today's View from the Street here in Altrincham.
25:12
We'll be on later with Mr. Rob Maxwell, with him in the studio for the live Lincoln.
25:18
And we will have more views and opinion on the cost of fuel and diesel.
25:25
And it'll be great to hear what Rob has to say on this. So thank you for listening.
25:29
You are listening to the Late Late Lunch Show on RadioAlti.co.uk.
25:34
Today, we were talking about the fuel prices, and of course,
25:36
it's hitting everybody because it affects everybody.
25:40
It'll affect some people more than others.
25:43
I mean, it's one of those things where, yeah, there's not much you can do to
25:48
get around it at times. If you need to go to work, you need to buy fuel for
25:52
your car. If you're living at home, you need to put the heating on at some stage.
25:55
People might be doing less of that. They might be putting an extra jumper on.
25:59
But it's something that actually they have little control over.
26:03
And in fact, actually, the UK government doesn't seem to have an awful lot of
26:07
control itself. Yeah, it doesn't.
26:10
I mean, if you just add everything else up, it's just astronomical.
26:15
You've got to pay a lot of money for that as well as everything else.
26:17
I think a lot of people are wondering how other people survive.
26:22
I guess a lot of people must be squirreling into their overdrafts or taking out overdrafts.
26:28
But I'm surprised that there isn't more cost cutting elsewhere.
26:34
With what the government's trying to do, or at least more awareness on what
26:37
people can do, like how people can...
26:40
For example, I've got like a electric blanket, which can help to reduce money
26:45
on gas and electric at home, but I didn't even know that this time last year.
26:50
So if people don't know these things, then how are they meant to know?
26:53
It is a case of looking at our fuel security, because in the current geopolitical
26:59
times and the amount of unrest in the world, especially the war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,
27:08
we have very little control over our fuel prices in a way.
27:12
And when the UK has tried to be compatible with a number of,
27:17
green energy rulings and trying to bring down the CO2 levels,
27:22
we actually turned off our sort of North Sea oil and gas pipelines.
27:28
So we reduced them down. But it's interesting that in the last week,
27:31
the government has granted permission for drilling of,
27:36
a gas field in the North Sea called Jackdaw and has also put a delay on closing
27:42
another one called Rosebank.
27:44
So it does feel like the government is having to go back on some pledges around, if you like, the...
27:53
What would you say? In terms of being green energy in favour of actually improving
27:59
our supply of our own oil and gas?
28:03
Yeah, I mean, it's a shame. I think they wanted to reserve that for the future.
28:07
But I think if it means not having to spend high-rise prices right now for Middle
28:15
Eastern suppliers, then I think it's an emergency. So the pump has put so much
28:19
pressure on, it looks like we're going to have to.
28:21
James, do you think people that you were talking to today have basically,
28:25
you know, are taking less journeys or turning the heat down?
28:28
Did you hear any of that today?
28:30
From what we heard, I think people are trying to cut money elsewhere.
28:34
So what I thought was actually really interesting is people who have a diesel car are not.
28:40
They seem quite attached to it. They don't want to get rid of it.
28:43
Maybe that's something that you resonate with.
28:45
I don't think I am. Is my car diesel anymore? I think it might be a car.
28:53
I
28:56
Mean, what we've been doing is using my wife's car a bit more for some journeys.
29:01
She has one of these cars that uses, it's got a battery in it and therefore
29:05
powers the battery and then will turn off the petrol engine at a time.
29:09
So there's some journeys where we would have typically used my car.
29:12
We're using her car now more just because it's more fuel efficient.
29:16
And, you know, sometimes we've been looking at, well, should we take the train
29:19
rather than taking the car?
29:20
You know, it's, it's, it is incredible.
29:24
And of course it is, it impacts all the way down into different levels of life
29:29
because, you know, it affects delivery drivers. It affects the cost of deliveries,
29:34
all that type of thing. Yeah. I think that.
29:37
Well, I have got petrol, but I was struck the other day, it cost me 60 quid.
29:41
I think what I might do is, well, my friend does, I think I might just,
29:44
well, I used to pay 20 pounds, but that would give half a tank.
29:47
I'm not going to do that anymore. Maybe I might just have to do 25 quid because.
29:52
It's costing a lot just to fill it up completely.
29:55
Yeah, yeah. And, of course, the car is one thing, but it's heating at home.
30:00
And I guess the worry of a lot of people would be that during the winter,
30:05
more elderly people who stay at home all the time, need the heating on more, may turn it down,
30:11
more often or turn it off and actually could suffer with hypothermia or something
30:16
like that, you know, and that can be a real health issue.
30:21
Yeah, it's really sad. And I think that the government has to do more.
30:24
Like when it was trying to take away winter fuel payments, it actually felt
30:28
pensionless. It should be doing more.
30:31
And I'm surprised that it's not, to be honest because Andy Burnham's been quite,
30:35
outspoken about other things but in terms of trying to broker deals like,
30:40
if you're doing oil deals with Saudi labor then obviously they're going to charge
30:43
whatever they want but it's going to have to try and find other partners whether
30:47
that's Norway or our own oil then,
30:51
there has to be other options I think but I think that how they promote,
30:56
the transport system or how they can have more regular services is also important yes indeed well look,
31:02
I think it's a topic we'll come back to maybe even come back to as the winter
31:07
progresses and we see how the fuel price changes but at the moment you know it's hitting that £2.
31:14
A litre level and it's impacting people in their pockets.
31:19
James thanks very much for another great view from the street thanks to Jamie
31:23
too. The Late Late Lunch show on Radio Alty.