Fuel protest pressures Brown over tax
28 May, 2008
LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of truck drivers caused road chaos in central London on Tuesday in a protest to demand government help over rising fuel prices.
Labour Party MPs also put pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to rethink planned fuel and road tax increases, prompting ministers to hint at a possible about-turn.
Truckers from across Britain converged on the capital in convoy, closing a busy artery and causing traffic backlogs. Similar protests took place in Wales, in a new headache for Brown whose leadership is under fire.
The drivers said fuel bills had risen by almost half in a year and demanded a rebate. French truckers threatened similar action.
Ministers, anxious after voters punished Labour in recent local elections, said they were listening to concerns.
There was no sign Brown would give in to the truck drivers but ministers said they would keep an "open mind" on a planned hike in vehicle excise duty that will hit families squeezed by rising fuel and food costs.
"We've made it clear we'll go ahead with the announcement we've made but we've also made it clear, and this is not contradictory, that we have an open mind in the future," environment minister Phil Woolas told BBC Television.