McLaughlin: Families struggling to meet soaring petrol prices

SDLP Foyle MLA Sinéad McLaughlin, has said families across the North are struggling to put petrol in their cars due to the soaring cost of fuel.

She was speaking after the cost of filling the average family car with petrol recently hit £100 for the first time.

Ms McLaughlin called on the British government to explore further support for people in the wake of constant price increases.

She said: “Families across the North and Britain are under increasing pressure with each passing day.

“We have seen the cost of gas and electricity bills increase on a monthly basis and now the price of petrol is increasing by the day, people just can’t keep up.

“News that the average family car now costs £100 to fill will rightly cause concern for many, the reality is people simply don’t have that kind of money to spare.”

^{SDLP MLA for Foyle, Sinéad McLaughlin}

Ms McLaughlin stressed that action to get prices back down to an affordable level must be taken as many people use their vehicles as part of their employment.

She added: “Unless action is taken to meet these costs it will have huge knock-on effects for our society.

“Many people rely on a car to get to their place of work, to take their children to school, for important appointments or to see their family and friends.

“The cost of petrol impacts everyone, from our health staff in hospitals, to carers who work in the community, our teachers, our hospitality and retail workers and on and on.

“The British government cannot stand by while people struggle, the fuel duty cut introduced in March has proven to be totally deficient in the face of rising prices at the pump.

“Closer to home we need to see the DUP end their boycott and get our institutions up and running again so we can access the millions currently unspent at Stormont and get money into people’s pockets to help them deal with these rising costs.”