Fuely Truckers

Sorry for the spoonerism. But clearly I don't go with the flow here.

As the tanker strike wound on yesterday, the enterprising owner of a fuel station changed forecourt price to align demand with the change in supply. It was exactly the same procedure that he had been doing for the other 364 days of the year. Exactly the same procedure that every other fuel station manager also does all the time. Exactly what every businessman needs to do to survive.

But fuel price watchdog petrolprices.com put out the nonsensical statement: "Putting the price up so much at a time when drivers in the South West are being hit worst by strikes is inexcusable."

The tabloids deliberately stoked up the hysteria, then did everything possible to prevent sensible mitigation of its consequences.

The undercover economist got it right. The nation got it wrong.