THE Barnsley Chronicle’s ‘Paying Through the Nozzle’ campaign to address the unfair pricing of petrol in the town has been shortlisted in the newspaper industry’s Make A Difference Awards.

When the campaign was launched in August 2023, the cheapest petrol motorists in Barnsley could find was 146.9p per litre.

Residents in Cheshire and the North Yorkshire constituency of then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were paying considerably less despite the average wage being much higher.

But it wasn’t just the high-end areas of the country who were getting the better end of the deal.

Locally in Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham, motorists were still paying less and in some cases they were able to fill their tank for almost 3p cheaper a litre.

The Chronicle then began an online petition, which garnered hundreds of signatures, and the current price of petrol in the town centre is now as low as 127.7p per litre - almost a whole 20p cheaper.

The campaign has subsequently been shortlisted in the News Media Association’s 2024 Make A Difference Awards.

The annual award sees members of the public vote for their favourite campaign from the past year during Journalism Matters week - which runs from Monday to Friday - to highlight the immense value journalism creates for our society.

A public vote will also go live on Monday, with people given the chance to vote for the Chronicle’s campaign until Wednesday at 5pm.

Barnsley South MP Stephanie Peacock has been supporting the campaign, handing in the petition to Parliament and often mentioning the campaign in the House of Commons.

She said: “I was pleased to launch my campaign to lower petrol prices last summer, alongside the Barnsley Chronicle, which called on local petrol providers to lower their prices in line with other comparable areas.

“Barnsley had some of the most expensive prices in the country and often more expensive than central London.

“Too many local people were facing higher costs in comparison to nearby areas.

“The Chronicle launched a petition online and this is something I raised in the Commons numerous times, and presented to Parliament.

“Thank you to the Barnsley Chronicle for drawing attention to this issue and supporting the call for lower prices.

“It shows one of the ways that local newspapers are so important, by highlighting issues and helping to bring about change.”

You can vote here on Monday: https://newsmediauk.org/making-a-difference/