Gurkha (Gorkha) campaigner behind FairFuel UK

Today's much-publicised Commons debate on the future of fuel prices is the culmination of ten months' lobbying and campaigning work for Peter Carroll, the man behind the 2009 Gurkha Justice Campaign.

Many will remember the high-profile Gurkha Campaign, which captured the hearts and minds of the public and eventually led to a government U-turn on Gurkha settlement rights.

Carroll, a former Liberal Democrat councillor, enlisted actress Joanna Lumley to help fight the cause of the Nepalese soldiers. As a result of the campaign, all former Gurkhas who served more than four years in the British Army earned the right to settle in the UK.

Carroll has now moved on from settlement rights to high fuel prices. He set up FairFuel in January, his initial post on FairFuel UK's Facebook page attracted eight likes and one comment. In little over a week he had made two TV appearances, one on BBC News and another on the One Show.

By the end of January FairFuel had drummed up support from a celebrity backer, in the form of motoring journalist and TV personality Quentin Willson. Countless photo opportunities then ensued. Willson appeared opposite the House of Commons to present MPs with letters from FairFuel campaigners. And the organisation wrote to every MP on 26 January promising that more lobbying and petitions were on the way.

FairFuel's Facebook page now has more than 8,000 likes and is a discussion hub for the campaigners.

The campaigners hope today's debate on fuel prices will urge the government to stem fuel price rises amid a public outcry over fuel costs, and was tabled in response to an e-petition signed by more than 150,000 people.

FairFuel is calling for the government to abandon January's proposed increase of 3p a litre and consider a 'price stabilisation mechanism' to avoid crippling the economy. The motion is not part of government policy but the prime minister has opted for a single-line whip when MPs vote on the motion later today.

Newspapers have already predicted that the government is prepared to scrap the next fuel duty rise due to the demands made by the campaigners. But FairFuel does not want to stop there, it wants to see a 'significant cut in fuel duty to get the economy growing again'.

-corpcommsmagazine