AS the petrol crisis draws to a close, I would like to put the record straight on a number of issues.

Labour is listening to and understands the concerns of drivers, particularly those in rural areas or who have to use their car frequently.

But the fact is that the recent rise in fuel prices has been caused by a rise in crude oil prices. Of the 18p increase per litre over the last 16 months, duty was responsible for less than 2p of the rise. The increase in fuel duties in this year's Budget was the lowest for 11 years.

The Tories introduced the fuel duty escalator. We took the decision to keep it in our first two years in government. This was a tough choice but we took it to help sort out the mess in our national finances. It is thanks in part to this choice that we now have a million more people in work and inflation at a record low.

The initial fuel duty escalator will also help us meet our environmental targets.

It is estimated that increases in fuel duty over the last four years will save up to 2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2010.

The fuel duty escalator has now been scrapped and this year duty rose in line with inflation.

We also cut duty on cleaner fuels.

This is just part of a package to help motorists which includes:

A £55 cut in road tax for drivers of smaller cars

£1,800 reduction in road tax for 44-ton lorries.

The Telegraph called the last Budget "the most motorist-friendly in eight years", and the AA said: "This is the first time drivers can take some heart from a Budget in over seven years."

Calls to peg duty increases to the price of oil would only result in the old stop-go, boom-bust economy of the Tory years. The price of oil is incredibly volatile -- recently it has fallen from $19 to $11 a barrel, and then risen to around $34 today. Labour is governing for the best long-term interest of the country. We will not resort to Tory-style short-term fixes.

While Labour will continue to listen to groups hit by high petrol prices, it is important to understand that farmers who are protesting are at considerable advantage over the general public:

Farmers are entitled to 'red diesel' which has duty of only 3p per litre, compared with 48p per litre for standard diesel.

Farmers and hauliers are also VAT registered, which means they can claim back the VAT they pay on fuel.

It is also important to note that the Tories have not said they would reduce the tax on fuel. They are only committed to scrapping the fuel duty escalator -- action Labour has already taken.

The Lib Dems' policy is to restore the escalator -- and at a higher rate of 8pc. If this had been implemented at the 1998 Budget, we would have petrol prices 5.6p a litre higher than now, and diesel prices 4.4p a litre higher.

Illegal blockades have caused far more harm than fuel prices ever could. We have had a situation where NHS staff have had difficulties getting to work, and hospitals have had to cancel operations.

Labour has listened, is listening, and will continue to listen to motorists. But we will not make policy on the basis of today's headlines, at the expense of tomorrow's stability. Labour's economic policy is made through budgets, not blockades.

Chris Whitby

Barnfield Close

Egerton

Bolton