Joe Woolfall, Liverpool south Socialist Party
North Sea oil prices have hit a record high in the past week, surpassing a peak set during the 2008 financial crisis. Already, working-class people have seen the effects as prices have started to soar at the petrol pumps.
This is occurring in the context of a ‘stalemate’ in talks between the US and Iran, leading to the Strait of Hormuz remaining shut, as the Socialist goes to press. Despite the apparent ceasefire agreement on the evening of 7 April, the strait has remained shut, with Iran suggesting that the US has broken the terms of the agreement.
In ‘normal’ times, roughly 20-25% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, with 80% of Asia’s oil and petroleum transiting the strait.
Bosses of oil companies, in times of crisis, are raising prices and passing on the costs to customers. In fact, record prices will mean record profits for oil and gas companies, as demand has risen for North Sea oil and gas this means a windfall for the big bosses.
Instead of allowing these super-rich polluters to get even wealthier, take them into public ownership. Nationalisation of oil and gas companies under democratic workers’ control would mean prices would be under the control of working-class people, not the fat cats – who deserve no compensation.
As the world enters further chaos and disorder, the need for socialism becomes clearer. A nationalised oil and gas industry would mean we could transition away from polluting fossil fuels and guarantee the jobs and conditions of workers instead of making us pay for it. A democratic socialist world, based on cooperation not competition, would mean a world free from war, austerity and environmental destruction.
