Where now for the fuel protesters?

As the most committed of demonstrators get back to work, the fuel protest movement seems unsure where to go next.

They came, they shouted and then they went home. And millions of people could be forgiven for not even noticing.

This week was supposed to be the crowning moment for Britain's army of angry fuel protesters.

The hype had it that London would be brought to a paralysing standstill as 25,000 lorries crawled through the capital. Thousands of disgruntled farmers would join hauliers at a rally in Hyde Park, while up to 1,500 fishermen planned to picket harbours up and down the country.

In the event, only 350 lorries made it to the capital and a relative handful of protesters - about 400 - made it to the rally. Even fewer hauliers joined the demonstration in Edinburgh.

It's a far cry from the tidal wave of support that swept across Britain two months ago, when truckers and farmers blockaded oil refineries and brought the country to its knees.

So where do the protestors go now?

Once that initial novelty has gone, you can't do it again

Rodney Barker

The demands had been for a 26p cut in tax on diesel. On Tuesday, the chairman of the People's Fuel Lobby, David Handley, told supporters "we will still keep talking with the government".

If nothing comes of that, the lobby will meet again in January to discuss tactics.

But Mr Handley resigned from the group immediately after his speech. Days earlier, Brynle Williams, the man credited with leading the September blockade and setting the 60-day deadline, distanced himself from any further action.

Protesters may find it hard to keep their spirits up

On Wednesday, the PFL was dealt another blow when Andrew Spence, who led the latest convoy, said he was thinking of standing down.

Paul Ashley, another high-profile PFL member, admitted the organisation may not survive "in the guise we are".

Protest experts say the fuel lobby's biggest strength, its focus on just one issue, is also its biggest weakness. In September, the campaign caught the public imagination and that led to almost blanket support for the cause.

"The evidence of the past suggests that campaigns which seriously inconvenience the public have an initial attraction," Rodney Barker, an expert in government at the London School of Economics, told BBC's Newsnight.

Broaden approach

"But once that initial novelty has gone, you can't do it again. You alienate the public."

Former PFL leader, David Handley

According to John Stewart, former chairman of environmental pressure group Alarm UK, the movement needs to widen aims.

"The difference between this and the anti-road movement of the 1990s, which lasted 10 years, is it was rooted in a much wider political framework," he said.

"Although direct action was very dramatic ... there were policy changes taking place in the 1980s and even the 1970s. And there were academic papers coming out and there was a whole change taking place in transport."

In fact, the package of benefits announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown in his pre-Budget report, seems to have split the movement. The Freight Transport Association described the so-called concessions to hauliers a "substantial package".

Slowly does it

Mr Barker says the lobby should work on "more subtle, slow march" tactics and build links with the Conservative Party.

Has the momentum stalled?

But critics point out it needs support from across the political spectrum, and no efforts have been made to cultivate ties with Labour backbenchers.

Richard Haddock, a prominent member of the South West Fuel Lobby, says Tony Blair's backbenchers have shown willing, but they are not prepared to be identified.

Speaking to BBC News Online, Mr Haddock denied Tuesday's protest in London had been a disappointment - it had been deliberately scaled down, he said - and he insisted there would be no let up in the campaign.

He has urged the prime minister to meet him and other protesters in December. If nothing is done, new plans for protest will be discussed in January, although he refused to say any more about what might happen.

"We've got to keep the pressure on the government; keep talking to them."

But judging by the public's seemingly lukewarm reaction to more protests, it could be some time before the public's blood pressure is raised again to boiling point.