Priti Patel blaming Labour for fuel shortages is absurd – as is her plan for fixing the problem

Priti Patel has sought to address the fuel shortages hitting petrol stations, but does she have a plan to fix the problem? Not exactly, but she had lots of blame to apportion.

The home secretary has pointed the finger squarely at "selfish" Just Stop Oil protesters who have blockaded depots and said they will do so until the government agrees to stop new fossil fuel drilling.

It is true that these demonstrations have disrupted petrol supply - the protesters say so themselves – though they are arguably exacerbating problems caused by a surge in post-Covid demand, Brexit, and the war in Ukraine. We did after all have fuel shortages last year before these demonstrations began.

Rather more outlandishly, Patel has also claimed Labour, rather than the government, was somehow to blame for the shortage of fuel – because they had not supported her police bill.

The home secretary's plan for draconian new powers, including to crackdown on disruptive or noisy protests, are mired in the House of Lords thanks to cross-party opposition to them.

Patel's argument is that with these powers the protesters could be arrested and without them they are free to do what they wish. Yet the home secretary is wrong to suggest that the new powers would somehow make such protests go away.

The police do not lack powers to arrest people obstructing highways, which can be done under existing offences such as "obstruction of a highway", or simple public order offences which have existed for decades. The demonstrations continue not because of a lack of laws but because every person has control over their actions - people are physically attached to the gates of oil storage facilities.

States that do try to control everyone's actions are generally regarded as dictatorships, but even they cannot suppress all protest, as recent events in Russia have demonstrated well to the world.

So Patel's claim – while speaking to the Daily Mail – that Labour is to blame is absurd, and her suggestion for fixing the problem is also useless. The best a charitable reading of the home secretary's plan could give her is that stricter penalties might have a deterrent effect – but centuries of policing suggest this is a dubious claim indeed.

One way to actually stop the protesters might be to listen to the concerned people chaining themselves to gates, and stop drilling for new fossil fuels. The protesters' demands are not outlandish or utopian - the government's own Committee on Climate Change has cast doubt on ministers' plans for new fossil fuel investment.

A report commissioned by the UK's own Cop26 presidency said new exploration past 2021 was not compatible with meeting our net zero climate goals. Ministers then commissioned another internal report which said it could proceed with certain conditions - but they then asked the industry to write the conditions, as The Independent reported earlier this year. The government always has the option of heeding scientific advice in this matter.