‘This was just the warning’: the fuel price protesters planning more action

theguardian.com:

They were a disparate group – truckers, farmers, businesspeople, carers, bikers, teenagers and retirees. Even a group of door supervisors from a west country market town. Some of the fuel protests were slickly organised; others were, frankly, a little chaotic.

But they had the desired effect of causing traffic jams, creating headlines and provoking the UK government.

Protesters are already planning their next move with the bank holiday weekend at the end of August being pencilled in as a possible date for a go-slow protest and many talking of trying to bring London to a standstill.

Mikey Dave, one of the door supervisors who efficiently organised a convoy that drove from the Somerset town of Bridgwater to Bristol via the M5, M4 and M32, said their protest had involved up to 80 vehicles.

“This was just the warning of what is going to come, just the start,” said Dave. “It’s about getting the message across to the government that they have got to act. People are having to to choose between filling up their cars and going to work, feeding their family or heating their home, that’s not right.”

Monday’s action was organised nationally via social media under the banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax, a Facebook group with more than 50,000 members. A string of local groups such as Dave’s – Stand Up to the Fuel Prices Southwest – have been formed after being inspired by the main group.

The Bridgwater-based group held two meetings with Avon and Somerset police to find ways of making sure the protest ran smoothly and safely – which it did. Dave said that door supervisors were struggling to meet the costs of simply getting to work and also knew many taxi drivers who were thinking of giving up. “But it’s affecting everyone,” he said. “There