Today the government had to defend itself against the possibility of Heating Oil shortages this winter for Rural communities. The price of heating oil has risen from a Summer price of 38p per Litre to 77p a litre this week. Is there a cartel at work here causing a shortage or can we British blame everything on the weather?

What's the problem?
Burning oil for domestic heating is antiquated, and if you use any resource where the supplies are limited , the price will keep going up. This is the economic platform for improving the payback on sustainable energy solutions. So open your mind...

We live in a greed culture thanks to the days of Maggie wether you like it or not she started this culture, business,banks etc all were used to making a small profit over a long period to build a long term future for their companies,unfortunately now everyone wants to make 100% to 200% on everything which leads to higher prices, oil is not expensive from the companies in comparison to the at the pump price, cigarettes are pennies from the tobacco companies, short term gains in banking etc results in huge bonuses but a loss results in a small bonus,there is never a claw back or zero bonus(well hardly)
It is far too easy to start a business nowadays,pay yourself a big wage and your staff,drive expensive cars etc etc and then when you have made no money but had a nice life then you go bancrupt therefore bringing down other business's who have tried to run on small profits,there is no stigma anymore it has become the norm.
All of this affects crime in the long term as the young with no hope can never achieve good well paid jobs but see bankers,sportsman etc etc paid insultingly high wages and the only way they can get what they consider to be nice things are to steal,cheat or fiddle, Unfortunately when a politician or similar high profiler gets caught nothing or very little happens to them,but someone from a poor background is labelled as the scum of the earth.
We need to punish corporate crime,tax evasion,fraud that accounts for billions in comparison to the small petty burglaries and shoplifting. I am not condoning this only pointing it out as this is not an excuse for criminals but one of the main reasons which politicians etc never consider. The punishment needs to suit the crime and not the person or their upbringing.
We as a nation need to get out of Europe,get rid of Mep's and all that goes with it,cut down our mp's and do something about the Lords,treat all expense fiddles as fraud and punish accordingly,stop the bonus culture or modify it so that if you make huge profits then that bonus is frozen somewhere and if you lose the next quarter then some of the bonus is given back as a lot of time figures are manipulated,just look at our bankers paying bonuses when the bank is bancrupt,how can making 1 billion in profit but you have been bailed out with 100 billion be called a profit,you have lost 99billion. COME ON THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
I could go on and on but it will take 2 generations to turn the tide on our greed culture if its even possible.
Happy Christmas and New Year everyone.

These guy's seem not to have read the question.

Is there a Cartel at work here? Wish I knew.

Who is making the money from these extraordinary price rises? I cannot answer this question either.
But I do know --

The last Government was entirely Urban support minded they cared not a fig for Rural dwellers.
It will be interesting to see how the coalition views the Countryside and the people who actually live there and earn far less than most urban dwellers.

Village life is quieter but the services received from local and national government are very limited but taxes and council tax are pretty much the same.
Crucially oil is the only option in many rural areas.

Anonymous 1 needed this 'Off the Record'

"Burning oil for domestic heating is antiquated"!?

John Page, like most of our politicians, is obviously an Arts graduate.

Micro combined heat and power (micro CHP) is the future, not the past.
Domestic boilers are now available in which gas is used to generate electricity which can be used in the house and the excess fed into the grid. The remaining heat energy, (which in a antiquated power station would have to be dumped in a cooling tower), is then used to heat the house. Oil fired versions will follow.