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All quiet at Ellesmere Port
All quiet at Ellesmere Port
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What petrol demo?

Clarissa Satchell
14/ 9/2005

THE much-hyped petrol protests which led to panic buying at the pumps failed to materialise today.

There were no signs of protesters at the Shell oil refinery in Stanlow near Ellesmere Port this morning which was at the centre of protests five years ago.

Tankers were moving freely in and out of the entrances to the refinery.

The only sign of anything out of the ordinary this morning was a police officer stationed at the entrance gates.

And there were no protesters at Manchester Fuels in Trafford Park either.

Ray Holloway, from the Petrol Retailers Association, said: "Motorists simply must accept that there is going to be no disruption to their petrol and diesel supplies," he said.

"They will only exacerbate the problem by panic buying - it is self-inflicted misery."

He added: "The disruption was caused by messages that occurred earlier in the week which led to panic buying.

"We have had six days of fuel bought in just two - it is crazy." Chris Hunt from the UK

UK Petroleum Industry Association said today’s protest had proved “thankfully amazingly quiet”.

“Any protests have been fairly small, fairly low key and not obstructing drivers’ movement at all,” he said.

Andrew Spence, the farmer and haulier who was a prime mover in the 2000 protests with the People’s Fuel Lobby, had arrived there at 6am.

Handful

Mr Spence insisted he had never intended this to be a mass demonstration. He said: “We didn’t want a lot of people here, I would rather there was just a handful of us.”

He said he had kept his vow not to blockade the depot and cause disruption to the fuel supply.
He said: “Some of these people are facing financial ruin, and how can I, as an individual, stop someone with a 32-ton eight-wheeler from parking up outside, throwing the keys away and making a statement?”

What happened to the protest? Let us know why you think it didn't materialise via the link below.


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Most recent 2 of 10 user comments

   How I laughed. All those motorists... more the fool you eh? Just goes to prove that if one person says something online and we read it and start to panic, just how much out of proportion it all can become blown. Feel stupid now you car owners! But yeah, someone raised the point that we have become somewhat inactive about supporting something - probably because we all like the comfort of our own homes too much - and thats breeding the sort of lethargy thats becoming synomymous with the populus as a whole and why things just don't get done. The strikes in the 70's were supported by vast numbers of people who went out of their way to show and offer support. Now, you just can't get the manpower to do anything. In an age where the consumer does have a choice, it should be proactive via other means - avoidance, for example. More effective - as is emailing - and lets face it, we'd do that, wouldn't we? we don't want to go out in whatever weather for however long with little in the way of resources (food, drink, toilets) because of potential police prescence at said 'area of protestation'. We're not just lethargic, but we're all guilty of fewer people having the ability of getting out doing something because of factors either at home or at work, which, in the 70's, wasn't as much an issue. So, don't look at lack of enthusiasm, it's there, it's just people can't be bothered turning out to show support - regardless of the event. I, for one, support no one particular side unless it has a direct bearing on something I am associated with.
P. Dorff, Manchester
15/09/2005 at 14:06

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   I agree with you Danny. And can we all stop talking about fuel, whta about those expensive storecards. pip pip
MD Bicycle enthusiast lol, In the trafford centre shopping with my store card
14/09/2005 at 22:26

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