Senior members of the Lib Dems in Angus are backing The Courier’s drive to put the brakes on crippling fuel prices.

Angus Councillors David May and Alison Andrews are squarely behind the newspaper’s Fight for fairer Fuel .

They praised The Courier’s stand and urged widespread public endorsement for it, a move echoed by Sanjay Samani, Liberal Democrat campaigner for Angus North and Mearns.

Mr Samani explained,

“I have signed the paper’s petition and applaud The Courier for taking this initiative.”

“There is no doubt that a fuel duty stabiliser will reduce the impact of fuel price rises, making a real difference to hard-pressed families and boost businesses in our rural area.”

“I would encourage people in Angus, Tayside and the North East to sign the petition and show their support for this excellent Courier campaign.”

Sign up your support for the campaign by clicking here for the Fight for Fairer Fuel petition on The Courier website.

Montrose member Mr May, Angus Council’s convener of infrastructure services, has added his signature to the petition as a mark of his full support for fairer fuel.

“As Angus is a rural area, our residents and businesses are at the mercy of rocketing fuel costs,” he explained.

“I call on the UK Government to take urgent action to address the rising price of fuel by postponing the scheduled duty increase in April.

“In my view, this would help stimulate the Angus economy as well as that of wider Tayside by protecting motorists, road hauliers and, in particular, our many remote, rural communities from high and volatile fuel costs.”

His colleague Mrs Andrews, who represents Kirriemuir and Dean on the local authority, said a fuel duty stabiliser was essential for fragile communities buckling under soaring prices at the pumps. She commented,

“Where I live in rural Angus, it’s impossible to manage without a private car.  The area I represent has a high proportion of remote communities where petrol and diesel are a necessity, not a luxury. Families and local businesses are all struggling as it is, and rising fuel costs impact painfully on everyone.”

“I would urge the chancellor to apply his imagination to this problem and introduce a fuel duty stabiliser in his budget.”

With the cold weather returning to Angus over the weekend, I want to remind pensioners that they may be eligible for Cold Weather Payments. However I am disappointed that up to 3,000 pensioners in Angus may miss out on the payment due to the complicated application process.

Cold Weather Payments are due if the temperature drops below zero on seven consecutive days. A payment of £25 is due for each week. Through the cold spell at the beginning of the year, this was triggered 3 times across large parts of Angus.

However, pensioners must have applied for the Pensions Credit to get the payments automatically and current estimates suggest that up to 1/3 of pensioners may not have done so, leaving 3,000 of Angus’s most vulnerable residents unpaid.

It is a scandal that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments. Fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold Weather Payments all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension.

Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need. The Government should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash.

Sanjay encouraged pensioners who believe they may be eligible to call their Pensions Office free on 0800 99 1234 or textphone 0800 169 0133. Alternatively they can send a letter to The Pension Service, PO Box 3, Edinburgh, EH91 5AF. Silver surfers can contact them online by clicking here to go to The Pensions Service Contact Form.

Angus residents on other benefits may also be due to receive cold weather payments and they can find out if they are eligible online by clicking here for the Government Direct Website information on Cold Weather Payments or alternatively contact their local Job Centre.