For the record I would like to make a few points clear on last week's letter from Mr Levitt MP"Motoring cheaper now than 1980s."
Firstly I don;t quite understand the point made about my personal disappointment in my visit to Parliament being greater than my concern about fuel prices.
When I went to London I was only one person in hundreds, and obviously the protest was a su
ccess as Mr Levitt says the 2p rise in the autumn has been cancelled.
As for his comments on fuel prices being cheaper in the UK than France, I don't think so; some fuels may be cheaper but as he knows, haulage businesses run on diesel fuel and last Friday diesel could be purchased at the pump in France for a price equal to 99p per litre whereas bulk diesel was £1.28 per litre, equalling £1.09 before VAT.
What Mr Levitt isn't taking into account is that my company may get back this VAT after three months' initial outlay, but the old couple who live in the country and need a vehicle, the young family who need to work, the kind person doing voluntary work etc do not.
Also a lot of small businesses who come below the VAT bracket don't, and their costs have risen dramatically, and as I stated, my company claims back VAT – not me personally.
The fact that diesel can be purchased cheaper in France and even cheaper in Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Southern Ireland means unfair competition from foreign hauliers to my business, but it means nothing to all those other people.
And as for the fact that motoring (according to the RAC) is cheaper now than in the 1980s, who cares?
This is 2008 and the struggle is here and now.
D J Seppman
Hastings Road
Buxton
The full article contains 310 words and appears in Buxton Advertiser newspaper.
