Yahoo News Minister tells drivers to 'shop around’ for fuel amid record prices
Government minister Mark Spencer has told motorists to use independent retailers instead of supermarkets to bring down the price of fuel
The "big four" supermarkets have been criticised for failing to pass on a drop in the wholesale cost of oil at the pump
The RAC has described supermarkets as "heartless" and warned the public against assuming supermarket fuel is cheaper
Read more about Spencer's comments below
A Conservative minister has urged customers to "shop around" to find cheaper fuel prices as major supermarkets fail to bring down costs despite a drop in the price of oil.
The price of fuel has surged this year in part due to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, due to over a fifth of Europe's oil coming from Russia.
Fuel costs hit record levels this summer, with average prices hitting 192p per litre for petrol in July and 199p per litre for diesel in June.
However, despite prices starting to fall, a number of major supermarkets are not passing on the discount - with the RAC describing the behaviour as "heartless".
Food minister Mark Spencer told Times Radio that the public could "drive down" the cost of record high fuel prices by using independent retailers.
"I would say to them [supermarkets] they've got to try and look after their customers," said Spencer.
“But I would say to those customers or my constituents, shop around to look around for the best deals and to use the power of your pay packet, if you like, to drive down that cost.
“If you move your custom to places where it is a low price - and there's lots of independent petrol retailers now that are actually lower than the supermarket prices - use your consumer power to drive those prices down again.”
It came after the RAC warned the public against thinking that supermarket petrol is cheaper than independent garages and stations.
He added: “We now have a bizarre situation where many smaller independent retailers are charging far less for their fuel than the supermarkets," said RAC spokesperson Simon Williams.
"After years of the supermarkets being the cheapest place to fill up, many drivers automatically assume this is still the case and may be losing out as a result.”
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It is not the first time supermarkets have come under fire for failing to pass on a drop in the cost of fuel; Rishi Sunak announced a 5p cut to fuel duty in spring while chancellor that was not universally passed on.
“The chancellor rode to the rescue of drivers on Wednesday and, even before the 6pm start of the fuel duty cut, drivers were reporting the price cut at some Asda forecourts,” said Luke Bosdet, the AA’s fuel price spokesman, in March.
“However, on Thursday, the average price of petrol showed that less than half (2.71p) of the fuel duty cut had been passed on to drivers.”
Spencer's intervention comes as the cost of living continues to worsen, with CPI inflation hitting 10.7% in the 12 months to November and the average yearly energy bill hitting £2,500 in October.
Watch: Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's are failing to reduce petrol prices in line with falling wholesale costs, RAC says
