White van men ‘bleeding cash’ in Iran war diesel chaos
The country’s fleet of tradesmen are “bleeding cash,” with the Iran war’s fuel chaos pushing the price difference between petrol and diesel to its widest level in decades.
A litre of diesel cost 179.9p on Sunday on average – up more than 35p since the Iran war started and 25p higher than petrol, according to motoring services company the RAC.
Diesel is the “lifeblood” of the UK’s more than one million tradespeople, according to the RAC’s research charity, because most light goods vehicles run on this fuel.
The government is facing calls to delay the incoming rise to fuel duty in September to help fuel retailers avoid hiking prices, but a minister said on Sunday there is “no need” to act on the tax.
The RAC Foundation has warned the current disparity between petrol and diesel prices is the worst since at least 2003.
Diesel ‘lifeblood’ of white van men
The UK’s oil refineries are better designed for the production of petrol rather than diesel, so Brits who fuel up using diesel are reliant on imports, which are more vulnerable to supply chain shocks.
The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping passage, since the outbreak of the Iran war, has sent petrol and diesel prices soaring.
More than 16m UK-licensed vehicles run on diesel, according to the latest DVLA figures, and the RAC said 4.6m of these are vans.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Diesel is the lifeblood of millions of small businesses, but today white van man is bleeding cash just to stay on the road.
“If oil prices remain at this level the impact on the forecourt could be felt for weeks, if not months.”
Gooding said the soaring price of diesel will impact every household because it will make every call-out to a plumber or carpenter more expensive.
Asda boss: profiteering claims are nonsense
Chancellor Rachel Reeves extended the Conservatives’ freeze on fuel duty to the end of August 2026 at last year’s Budget, but the rates are set to gradually return to 2022 levels over the next five years.
Campaign group FairFuelUK are calling on the government to extend the freeze.
As many as 36 per cent of tradespeople – including bricklayers, plumbers and electricians – say their businesses could be forced to collapse unless Reeves takes immediate action to reduce pump prices, according to a FairFuel survey.
Howard Cox, FairFuel’s founder, said: “[Reeves] is either neglecting her responsibilities or acting ideologically by failing to do what her role requires: preventing inflation from rising, protecting jobs, supporting GDP growth, and maintaining consumer spending.”
The government has said it is monitoring fuel retailers to ensure they do not “profiteer” from the Iran war by hiking prices more than they need to.
But this intervention was condemned by forecourt bosses, who said the “inflammatory” language may have encouraged the abuse of petrol staff.
On Friday, the boss of supermarket chain Asda – which operates more than 300 petrol stations – said Labour’s concerns over profiteering are “nonsense”.
Allan Leighton, executive chairman of the retailer, said: “Government has a big role to play and it stands there pointing fingers at everybody. It’s total camouflage.”
Additional reporting by the Press Association