Did petitioners end petrol rationing?

A look back at how petitioners helped to abolish petrol rationing in the 1940s

By Professor Richard Huzzey

Subject to war-time rationing since the first weeks of the Second World War, petrol remained – like many food items – controlled in peacetime for years afterwards.

Since 1945, a basic ration of petrol coupons had allowed motorists a limited fill-up for any purpose. However, in 1947 the Government announced its intention to scrap this entitlement, wishing to reduce demand given the wider impact on the economy of importing it at high prices from overseas.

The plan to launch a petition against this decision from drivers and motorcyclists emerged in September, when Prime Minister Clement Attlee declined to meet the the Automobile Association (AA) and Royal Automobile Club (RAC) leaders to discuss the abolition of 'the basic'.

The petition

Clement Attlee, Prime Minister 1945-51

The petition to keep the basic ration was reportedly being signed by 100,000 people a day at one point, with the ‘first million’ received by Alfred Edwards, the Middlesbrough MP. Offering this public role to a sympathetic politician from the governing Labour party would have been no coincidence.

In November 1947, vans from the AA and RAC headed towards Parliament with a million signatures on petitions. The newsreels enjoyed the spectacle of liveried staff and vehicles conveying the bulky sheets of protest to Parliament.

Such organisations lobbied for their members’ concerns about motoring, long before they developed the breakdown services for which they are best known today. And they played an active role in encouraging signatures from those disgruntled at the continuation of rationing in the post-war years, coordinating with the Royal Scottish Automobile Association and British car manufacturers.

An organised petitioning machine

This may have been the biggest motorists’ petition, but it was not the first. The AA had set up a Petitions Department to coordinate previous campaigns, gathering signatures to present to the Prime Minister on petrol prices in 1920 and against petrol taxes in 1928, for example. A fore-runner, the Motorists’ Union, had organised a 1908 petition complaining that taxes paid on automobiles ought to be reserved for improving the roads.

They could mass produce the printed petition forms for signatures, distribute them to every corner of the country, and use staff resources to drum up support – as well as put on a striking show of conveying the collated petition to the Palace of Westminster.

Did the petition save the basic ration?

In the short-term, the petition did not stop the abolition of the basic ration of petrol. Although the vote to scrap the basic petrol allowance was the closest since Labour’s landslide win in 1945, it still passed into law. A presentation of further petition forms, taking the total number of signatures close to 2 million, did not alter the Government’s course in December 1947.

Delayed success

Despite this initial failure, the Government did restore a basic petrol ration just 7 months later, in June 1948. Whilst the economic pressures on petrol supplies may have eased, ministers also had no doubts as to motorists’ annoyance. They made sure to introduce a summer bonus of coupons for those wishing to make longer journeys for their holidays, from 1949 onwards.

What wider political consequences did the petition and campaign have?

The mobilisation of consumer discontent and media coverage regarding the continuation or intensification of rationing would have wider political consequences. The opposition parties made this a major issue when voters returned to the polls, echoing the demands of groups and organisations.

The Conservatives enjoyed a political recovery in the 1950 general election, following which Labour ended petrol rationing entirely after securing a deal with American suppliers. The motoring lobby declared “VP day” – “Victory for Petrol”.

However, the abolition of all rationing did not prevent a slide in fortunes that saw Winston Churchill returning to Downing Street after the 1951 general election. The petrol ration would, temporarily, return a final time in 1957 during the Suez Crisis.

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So, did the 1947 petition of millions of signatures succeed?

On its own, it probably did not. However, it did play an important part in the campaign. It successfully provided a spectacular display of concern, becoming a focus of press coverage and ultimately political parties competing over the issue. Though it is impossible to know how many voters changed their votes on the basis of this issue – or whether it largely appealed to those already set against the Government – the rebellion by Labour’s own MPs suggests they thought the issue would be keenly felt in their own constituencies.

Moreover, it offers an example of how membership organisations and interest groups can mobilise their members to raise the profile of an issue up the political agenda, especially where they can create some news interest in an unusual or dramatic presentation.

Petrol still fuels plenty of controversies today – from rows over filling station supply chains to debates over how to reduce carbon emissions from cars.

Petitioning evolves

The 1947 petition to keep the basic petrol ration is a good example of some of the 20th century developments in petitioning. It shows how membership organisations and interest groups can mobilise their members and work together to raise the profile of an issue up the political agenda, attract media attention, and put pressure on the Government of the day.

The story also highlights the importance that organisations had started to give petitions as part of their campaigns to influence change with the AA setting up its own.

While providing an interesting case, the basic petrol ration campaign reflected some important shifts in petitioning in the 20th century to a more organised, demonstrative form of campaigning we still see today.

Petitioning goes digital

In the 21^st century, most petitions are started and shared online. Petitions on Parliament’s petitions website have received over 105 million signatures since the site was created in 2015, providing millions of people with the opportunity to share their concerns with MPs, and press for change.

However, hand-written or typed out and hand-signed petitions known as public petitions, such as the basic petrol ration petition, can still be presented to Parliament by your MP. Find out more about public petitions.

Campaigners can still organise a ‘mass lobby’ to meet MPs and members of the House of Lords in Parliament to this day. Find out how to organise a mass lobby.

References

About the author

This story is based on a piece written by Professor Richard Huzzey, Professor of Modern British History, in the Department of History, Durham University.

Prof. Huzzey’s piece is informed by research conducted for the Petitioning and People Power in Twentieth-Century Britain project, funded (grant number AH/T003847/1) by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), which are both part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).