Star comment: Profits the real driver at the pumps
We were told we were all in it together. We weren’t, of course. We never are.
When the cost of living started to bite, commerce, big business, retail, and the Government chimed in unison. Everything that could be done would be done to reduce the impact. Those on middle incomes would be protected, while the most vulnerable would be protected by a safety net.
That narrative, however, was false, and further evidence is emerging of the way in which retailers used the cost of living as a cover for their profiteering endeavours.
Margins - or profit level - have risen significantly at supermarket petrol pumps. Those unfortunate enough to drive diesel vehicles spent weeks and months, incredulous at the disparity in price between diesel and unleaded, while reading reports that the cost at wholesale was the same.
The profits earned by stores amounted to around £1 billion – money that came out of the pockets of us, the general public.
