I have developed a fixation on shopping around for petrol prices, but I comfort myself with the thought that I am gaining some control over the situation. From where I stand, seething at the pump, nobody in power seems to be gaining control of the situation at all, or realising what spiralling prices are doing to voters.

If the events of this week – threats of the £5 gallon and lorry drivers protesting in London – are anything to go by, they had better come up with a plan. Remember how ministers were caught, like rabbits in the headlights, when fuel protesters brought the country to a standstill in 2000?

I find myself wondering, as I watch the pound signs ratcheting past £50, then past £60 to fill my tank with diesel, whether Alistair Darling ever actually fills up his own car? Does David Cameron? Surely he can't go everywhere on that bike with the limo in tow?

If they do, then isn't the price of petrol also hitting them in the eyes – and the wallet? I know they are highly-paid politicians, but it must register a bit.

Buying fuel is not just a matter of keying in the PIN number at the supermarket check-out and averting your eyes to the galling total.

The rise in petrol and diesel prices is the most visible indicator of the soaring cost of living; we can actually see the pounds and pence racking up in front of us. And unlike food-shopping, where we
may choose to eat less or stock up on economy brands, or household heating bills, where that warm fleece comes in handy, most of us are unable to choose a cheaper alternative to petrol or diesel.

When Shell and BP announced record combined profits of £7.2bn for the first three months of the year, Gordon Brown conceded that he was "very worried" about the impact of the rise in oil prices and the knock-on effect on consumers. But "very worried" and "determined to do something about it" are two very different states of mind.

I know that the price of oil is governed by a series of complex international factors, but if the Prime Minister is so "very worried", then you might think that he and his Chancellor should be looking close to home for a solution.

But, this is where it gets complicated. Or maybe not at all, and indeed scarily simple. Rising oil prices are good news for Government coffers, as a significant amount of the cost of a litre of petrol or diesel goes to the Treasury as duty. Thanks to this, the Treasury is estimated to be receiving £123m a month more from VAT on fuel than it was a year ago.

Presumably, some of this windfall is coming in very useful for those unforeseen household emergencies such as rescuing Northern Rock. Worse could be to come on the domestic front; the proposed increase in fuel duty of two per cent introduced in the Budget is set to be implemented in October.

It is not my job to tell the Government how to spend its cash. But I feel that it is my job to point out that a country which can't afford to fill its tank can't afford to drive to the shopping centre to buy summer clothes, can't afford to drive to the seaside and buy ice cream, can't afford to pop down to the DIY store this weekend, in fact, can't afford to do many of those things which constitute normal life and keep the wheels of the economy turning. And I think that we would all agree, given the state it's in right now, that the economy needs all the help it can get.

Self-imposed rationing is happening already. I know plenty of people who are having to prioritise their precious petrol for work and essential trips. Can it only be a year since I raised my eyebrows at a former colleague with impeccable eco-credentials?

I was sceptical, but he must have seen the future. He had a set amount of money for petrol every week, and once it was gone, it was gone. If there was some left at the weekend, he and his family might go out.
If not, they stayed at home and made their own entertainment, digging their allotment and so on.

In the end, life in Denby Dale got too hectic for them. They were last heard of selling their motor and building their own eco-house in the middle of Norfolk. I sometimes think that that's the kind of world we would all be living in if this Government had its way.

Unfortunately for the UK's 43 million drivers, most of us have to make our way through the real one, with a car.