A group of Labour MPs has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) asking it to “immediately launch an investigation and consider fining or reprimanding retailers who are ripping off consumers”.
The group of five politicians is led by Dunfermline and Dollar MP Graeme Downie, and while it backs the forthcoming Fuel Finder scheme, the MPs say the initiative “will not bring prices down at the pump”.
The Sun reports the MPs add that “high fuel costs are where the public and businesses see and feel the pain of rising bills the most”.
As of May 26, the weekly average price for a litre of unleaded stands at 134.13 pence in London, and 131.69p in the north west, while diesel is 140.08p and at 138.24p respectively.
Commenting on the MPs’ claims, Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), says retailers “operate in a highly competitive environment”, and that PRA members “have seen their fixed costs skyrocket” in recent years due to National Insurance, business rate and minimum wage rises, with these increases leading to increased pump prices.
Balmer added that the PRA is working with the government as it develops the forthcoming Fuel Finder scheme, and that in the meantime he would “encourage motorists to use alternatives like petrolprices.com to search for the cheapest fuel in their area”.
