Reform UK’s “fair fuel” protest failed to draw support on Monday, with the planned march down Whitehall called off amid a small turnout.
Billed as a “national fuel protest”, the protest was shared on senior Reform UK members’ social media, including the party’s treasury spokesperson, Robert Jenrick.
The AI-generated poster advertising the event on social media featured an array of tractors, lorries and vans positioned in front of parliament.
But as Reform UK’s double-decker bus and taxi turned on to Whitehall – 40 minutes after the advertised start time of 9am – no other vehicles had materialised.
Only dozens of spectators gathered on the street by the bus, the majority from the media, with just a small handful of Reform UK supporters attending.
The event was also supposed to include a march down Whitehall, but the moving demonstration was called off.
Mr Jenrick, who was leading the protest alongside Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice, MP Sarah Pochin and London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham, said the group had been “driving around central London … talking to punters”.
“People have been hooting their horns in support of us,” he said. “We’re here to send a very strong message to Rachel Reeves, the chancellor: do something now to help our hard-pressed motorists.
“Chancellors and finance ministers all over the world, from Australia to Germany to Sweden to Spain to Ireland, are acting to lighten the load.”
Reform UK is calling on Ms Reeves not to go ahead with the increase in fuel duty planned for September and to implement an “emergency cut now”.
Labour have been under pressure to lay out measures to protect Britons amid the rising prices and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the war in Iran.
“If you’re listening, Rachel Reeves – and I did invite her here today last week, she didn’t say that – but if she’s cowering at one of the windows of the Treasury behind us, listen,” Mr Jenrick added.
“Listen to the millions of Brits who are finding life hard at the moment. Take action. Lighten the load. Cut fuel duty now.”
Oil prices hit a near three-week high on Monday, as the key oil route remains closed while peace talks between the US and Iran stall.
Negotiations between Iran and the US have broken down once more, with Donald Trump declaring over the weekend that envoys would no longer be travelling to Pakistan for talks due to a lack of progress.
Mr Trump told Fox News on Sunday: “If they want, we can talk, but we’re not sending people.”
Speaking on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer reiterated that the government had capped household energy costs until July, regardless of what happens in Iran, while fuel duty is scheduled to remain frozen until September.
