UK fuel prices hit record highs as Ukraine war disrupts oil supplies

Petrol pumps across the UK are displaying prices that would have seemed unthinkable a year ago. Diesel has climbed to an average of £1.61 per litre. Petrol sits at 155.62 pence per litre. At some stations, drivers are seeing petrol prices creep toward £1.71. The war in Ukraine, now weeks old, has upended global energy markets in ways that are hitting ordinary people at the forecourt every single day.

The mechanics of the crisis are straightforward enough. Russia is Europe's third-largest oil supplier, and roughly half of every barrel the country produces flows to the continent. As Western nations and businesses have moved to cut ties with Russian oil in response to the invasion, the global market for crude has tightened. Demand has not fallen—it has simply shifted. Countries and companies that once bought from Russia are now competing for oil from other sources. That competition drives prices up, and up, and up. The UK itself imports only 6 to 8 percent of its crude oil from Russia, a relatively modest share compared to European neighbors. But the country does source around 18 percent of its diesel from Russian suppliers. The European Union has already reduced its Russian oil imports by two-thirds. The UK government has committed to stopping all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022. Each of these decisions makes sense on its own. Together, they are reshaping what people pay to fill their tanks.

In Coventry and across Britain, the anger is palpable. Residents are calling the price hikes a disgrace. They are watching their household budgets stretch thinner. For families already struggling with rising rents, food costs, and energy bills, fuel prices have become another weight pressing down. Businesses that depend on transport—delivery companies, tradespeople, anyone with a fleet—are absorbing costs that threaten their margins and their ability to keep people employed.

The government has acknowledged the problem. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced the formation of a new Taskforce on Oil to help companies find alternative suppliers. He pointed out that the UK is itself a significant oil producer and holds substantial reserves. Most of the country's imports come from what he described as reliable partners: the United States, the Netherlands, and the Gulf states. The implication was clear—there are options, even if they take time to activate and may not fully offset the shock.

But government statements have not quieted calls for more direct intervention. The RAC's fuel spokesman, Simon Williams, has urged the chancellor to cut VAT on fuel to at least 15 percent, a move that would save drivers roughly 6.5 pence per litre and bring the average price of unleaded back below £1.50. That is a concrete proposal with a concrete number attached. Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, has taken a different approach. She has called for a windfall tax on oil companies—firms like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and Total that have posted record profits even as working families struggle to pay their bills. The money from such a tax, she argues, should fund the transition to renewable energy and help insulate homes, reducing long-term dependence on volatile global oil markets and, by extension, reducing Putin's leverage over European energy security.

What happens next depends on choices the government makes in the coming weeks. Prices at the pump will almost certainly remain high for months. Whether they rise further depends partly on how the war evolves and partly on how quickly alternative supply chains can be built. What is certain is that the crisis is real, it is hitting people now, and the pressure on policymakers to act—whether through tax cuts, windfall levies, or investment in alternatives—will only intensify.