Labour is calling on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to act and start the process of launching an inquiry into petrol pricing on the forecourt.

The CMA has the power to launch an initial ‘market study’ leading to a full ‘market investigation’. This initial inquiry would judge whether competition is working and make sure that falls in the price of oil are being passed on to motorists. If they find that price falls are not being passed on, then there should be a full investigation recommending actions to make the market competitive.

Labour is also calling on the Government to back Labour’s proposals to make sure that commodity markets, such as oil, are more transparent and not open to manipulation. In 2012, the Government refused to support Labour’s amendments in Parliament to the Financial Services Bill, which would have helped give regulators and financial authorities the data they need to hold industries, like the oil industry, to account on pricing and to give motorists the confidence that they are not being ripped off.

Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Michael Dugher MP, said:

“Hard-up families and hard-pressed businesses are fed up of feeling like they are being fleeced at the pumps. We know that when oil prices go up, fuel prices go up. But when oil prices come down, as in recent months, it is not reflected in the prices people pay at the pumps.

“Britain’s motorists are still paying an average of 118p a litre, even though global oil prices have fallen by more than 40 per cent since July. Organisations have said that petrol should now be at least 7p a litre cheaper than it is.

“David Cameron is in denial about the cost-of-living crisis - with people on average £1,600 a year worse off since 2010 - and he can always be relied upon to stand up for the wrong people. That’s why he’s failed to act to make sure people are not getting ripped off by the big oil companies.

“Labour is determined to act to ensure real transparency in the industry and we want to see the Competition and Markets Authority start the process of launching an inquiry into the fuel market in the UK.”