England Endures High Gas Prices

It takes a stiff upper lip and a fat wallet to face the prices at gas pumps in Britain these days, reports CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth.

"You just can't win," remarked one woman. "You just have to grin and bear it."

"What we're paying is unbelievable, really," added a fellow driver.

At 87.9 British pence for a liter of petrol, drivers here are paying the equivalent of more than $6 for a gallon of gas.

"The prices are far too much," said another female driver. "It costs me fifty quid to fill up my car now," or $75 for a tank-full.

Steep fuel taxes—almost 85 percent of the price of every gallon—have been government policy for years—with the goal of driving more people onto public transport, reducing pollution and congestion—but they make British gasoline the most expensive in Europe.

While Prime Minister Tony Blair warns he'd have to cut education and health spending if he lost the revenue from fuel tax, his political rivals smell blood.

"Isn't the time coming when the people who can't now afford to run a car will take their revenge on the people who can't manage to run a government?" said William Hague, a leader of the opposition Conservative Party.

That revenge may be coming in the form of a one-day-a-week gas boycott called "Dump the Pump"—a symbolic protest to send a message that the British are so angry, they're actually going to complain.

"People are beginning to realize that the amount they're paying is an unjust amount, and somebody needs to do something about it, somebody needs to complain and say you've got to stop," said Hugh Bladon of the Association of British Motorists.

But the timing of the protest could dull its impact: It doesn't start till next month, just as the government shuts down for the summer. Politicians who could lower taxes will be starting their vacations—hitting the road no matter what it costs.