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Fuel costs are affecting everybody

Well, the war has been raging for just over a week, and the world economy has been thrown into chaos due to fuel prices

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Well, the war has been raging for just over a week, and the world economy has been thrown into chaos due to fuel prices. Before the conflict, Brent crude was approx $70 a barrel. On Monday, 09/03, the price of a barrel went up to $100. On Tuesday, after a speech by the US president, the markets showed $90 per barrel, but did not calm the markets totally.

Shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz is also causing concern as supplies of oil are getting worse. The Iranian regime has said they will target tankers, has helped at al,l also saying British ships in the Gulf are ‘legitimate targets’

“Starmer: We will keep fuel duty under review amid the Iran war”

The Labour government, specifically the chancellor, wants to increase fuel duty later in the year. The PM played this down at questions to the prime minister. But households are pushed to the breadline as they are and don’t need any increase soon. With inflation growing again, the threat of interest rates rising has unsettled the UK economy.

There is some queuing at petrol stations, and the price of fuel at the pumps has risen dramatically. People are already feeling this in their pockets.

But costs don’t just apply to automotive fuel but to our households, too. We all use gas and electricity, and with damage to major gas plants in the Middle East, the prices of home energy will increase, too.

 We were looking forward to cheaper gas and electricity in April 2026, which will decrease the energy cap by 7%. But now with the conflict in the Middle East, it will put pay to that.

It’s going to be rough, but we will have to ride the storm out. Hopefully, the war will end, and rebuilding and confidence can resume.

Government

What really is the Prime Minister doing for us?

A Prime Minister’s job is to lead a party and government in making this country better and safer. We have had turmoil lately, with the country turning on Sir Keir Starmer.

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Photo: Pexels

A Prime Minister’s job is to lead a party and government in making this country better and safer. We have had turmoil lately, with the country turning on Sir Keir Starmer.

We did need a new PM because things were not getting done, and many U-turn policies were not fulfilled.

Defence, immigration and the cost of living are all so important to the UK. We had a PM that allowed all of these to spiral out of control.

With the defence budget short of 5 billion,1000’s of illegal immigrants coming in on dinghies every good day, and the cost of living spiralling, people have these on their minds.

Could our armed forces stand a war? The Conservatives let the defence budget drop, leaving us with a skeleton defence force. Could we even defend the Falklands now?

We needed a new leader and PM to sort out all the problems and cracks in the paintwork.

So, we have a change in PM. Andy Burnham, MP for Makerfield and ex-mayor of Manchester, came to the Labour Party for leader uncontested but with no mandate.

So far, we have a new No 10 in Manchester. He has made such a fuss over this. Every Friday is cabinet day, and easy for him to get home in Manchester.

The big deal the PM has made of No 10 up north is dramatic and obsessive as they come. Why not sort the UK out before opening new offices in Manchester?

9 days in charge and we have VAT cuts of 5% on electricity and a maximum bus fare of £2.00, and that’s going to help with the cost of living?

He has shied away from being in a room with the media and answering questions. It’s all staged is any interviews he had. Andy, I Take No Questions, Burnham.

Burnham also thinks we don’t have an immigration problem. 9 days and the public is starting to hate him. The Andy Burnham show temporarily rolls on.

What are we going to do? The whole of the UK was looking for a new leader who was transparent and cared. A doer is what was wanted to sort things out; we got a communist.

Yet again we are leaderless. Again, we have a clueless Prime Minister who stages announcements and manages interviews.

He needs to sort immigration and the small boat crossings as a matter of urgency, as in his first 9 days in power, 850 illegal migrants landed on our shores.

He states he will last till 2029, a full term, but sadly I think it will be 26 – 2027 and a general election would need to be called. Even before then, listen to the singing at football games to see if his name is mentioned in song.

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Government

Is This Prime Minister Listening?

Have we got it yet, No. 10 up north? The prime minister has been in office for a week, and some of the most important issues are being disregarded.

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Have we got it yet, No. 10 up north? The prime minister has been in office for a week, and some of the most important issues are being disregarded.

It’s been a week of cuts to help the public and businesses, but they seem more like Micky Mouse gimmicks.

The country cried out to Keir Starmer to do something about the illegal boats and illegal immigration, but he did nothing. He said smashing the gangs was the idea, but it did nothing.

Keir threw money at the French to help, but that failed. During Starmer’s reign in 2025, 46,000 illegal immigrants entered the UK, which was approximately 41,000 coming by boats from France, as reported by the Home Office.

We had an ex-Prime Minister who would never engage with the problem of illegal immigration at hand. But have we started with a new PM that’s ignoring this major problem?

It appears last week Andy Burnham was looking to get brownie points for his new policies and to win the public over. It’s good to note that in the last 4 days another 800+ people have arrived by dinghies from France, and Andy thinks we are going to forget for a few weak ideas.

The latest problem is that illegal immigrants are now crossing on mega dinghies which can now hold up to 165 passengers.

This week will be a telling point if the new PM is going to raise this subject of immigration and asylum.

1 week into power, and one of the major problems is ignored. He is wasting time and money making a No 10 in Manchester rather than leaving the norm of Downing Street.

Illegal immigration is causing mayhem. We have serious crimes being committed, strains on our NHS and benefits system.

Have we just hired another weak PM who won’t address everything that the country needs?

Sadly, it may seem we have swapped a weak PM for a Prime Minister who’s no different at all.

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Government

Tax cuts but is it enough?

It’s three in a row of ” Put Britain first ” from Andy Burnham. In a 6 am a press release has been announced that Drinking establishments will get a tax cut

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It’s three in a row of ” Put Britain first ” from Andy Burnham. In a 6 am a press release has been announced that Drinking establishments, pubs, clubs and live music venues will get a 20% business rates tax cut from next April.

We have had VAT relief on electric bills for 6 months, bus fares capped to £2 per route and a cut in business rates for drinking establishments. But what’s on people’s mind is how this all is to be funded.

It’s good to think we have a government that’s doing for the general public, but is it too little too late?

Kemi Badenoch, Conservative, has called the PM’s plans a spending spree and has called on him to rule out tax rises to pay for them. She also said it’s too small for Britain; we need to look in a bigger way.

Drinking venues will save approx. £1100 on their tax bill per year. But really, is this enough to save the drinks industry? With approximately 8 venues closing weekly, it’s clear more needs to be done. It’s estimated 540 pubs will close in 2026.

Cafés, restaurants and hotels won’t benefit from these tax cuts and many of their businesses are under threat.

Funding will come from bad businesses like Vape shops that seem to promote sad business for the UK.

But the cost-of-living UK idea seems to have been floundering before it even began. It does not seem enough really to help our pockets. Business tax has gone up 50%, so a cut of 20% is not good at all and still leaves publicans under pressure.

We had 3 boats and 173 illegal immigrants land at Dover yesterday and no word or acknowledgement from Andy Burnham. Besides the cost of living, stopping the boats is a huge subject for the people of Britain.

What’s the PM’s game? Getting the public to like him with Micky Mouse pledges. He still has not been grilled by the press yet, and everything is staged. Is this the best we can do, Andy Burnham and his staged cabinet?

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