Farmer groups in the UK are preparing to protest against fuel cost rise that sent diesel price up to £2 per litre. This move follows suite of recent fuel protests in Ireland, that disrupted critical supply chains and forced the government to introduce a €505 million fuel tax cuts package.
Several UK media oulets have issued warnings today that some of the UK farming communities are considering wide-scale fuel protest actions similar to those taking place in Ireland at present.
What chances are farmers in UK will join fuel protest wave?
The Telegraph quoted an anonymous source who explained that with the few-year long history of inheritance tax protests, farming groups familiar with this type of public policy disapproval are already formed. All they need is the decision to proceed, which they very much would like to avoid, being “the last people who want to go out and protest,” especially in this “busy time of the year” for the agricultural sector. However, with diesel price reaching £2 per litre, farming becomes unsustainable, prompting people to act decisively in a way they consider proper.
At present, the protesting decision has not yet been made. According to William Taylor, Farmers For Action co-ordinator, there are some considerations among pressure groups to start a UK-wide protest. However, “Currently it has been agreed to wait and watch over the coming days with reference to fuel prices and the Government’s reactions to the plight that family farmers, SMEs, the haulage industry and the UK’s work force finds themselves in.”
If UK government isn’t proactive it may end up in situation similar to Ireland fuel protests
To understand possible implications of nationwide farming communities protests, analysts look at the example of Ireland, that has been going through severe infrastructure blocade and associated disruptions for over a week now.
The 2026 Irish fuel protests began on April 7. As in most other countries of the world, fuel prices in Ireland were rising steeply for a while, linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. When they reached a tipping point and government’s excise duty reductions didn’t help, local farmers, hauliers and transport-dependent workers gathered for demonstrations and blockade of crucial fuel delivery passages. Grassroots groups like “People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices” coordinated convoys of tractors and trucks via social media.
By April 10, many service stations across the country had run out of diesel and petrol. Around 600 of 1,500 filling stations were dry next day. Even emergency services such as fire and ambulance services were curtailed as a result of the blockades. The situation got outright dangerous.
Local authorities disapproved the farmers’ actions, calling the protests “act of national sabotage.” They also refused to negotiate directly with protest organisers, citing the absence of recognised representative structures. On April 12, police and army was deployed. Law enforcement units used pepper spray and arrested some of the protesters blockading the Whitegate oil refinery, which is one of a kind for Ireland.
At the same time, the government reacted not only with force. On Sunday April 12, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin announced a €505 million fuel tax cuts package. He said the measures were introduced after negotiations with official trucking and farming organisations. Whether the proposed solution will be enough, given that, as of Monday morning, Brent crude again surged over 9% to nearly $104 a barrel and energy markets are unstable, is dubious. So far, road closures remain in place on several Ireland’s motorways.
Where fuel price surge feels the most (infographics)
While we speak of Ireland and the UK, these two countries are not even the ones with most expensive fuel out there. Check this infographic to see where petrol is barely affordable (based on publicly available gasoline prices aggregated from multiple sources).
