Boris Johnson’s second minister who comes to the fore to ask for calm and not fall into compulsive purchases. This time it has been due to images of long lines at gas stations after the closure of BP stations and a small number of Tesco Alliance stations, owned by Esso. The lack of truck drivers is causing fuel shortages in the country.
The UK Transport Minister, Grant Shapps, has had to appear on the BBC to ask British citizens to calm down in the face of images of long queues for petrol. It is the second time this week. because of the problems that the food industry is going through.
Don’t think people got the memo ????????
— ?ËW? (@ajthebudderking)
The perfect storm is shaking the country. Not only electricity prices are putting the country on the ropes, with factories announcing production stoppages. It also suffers from a huge driver shortfall as a result of Brexit, which is causing distribution problems in many sectors.
Among them are gas stations. to service stations in the country, given the growing shortage of supplies caused by the lack of truckers. And today they have confirmed the closure of some stations, which have also been joined by Tesco Alliance points of sale.
Shapps has confirmed that the Johnson government is considering the idea of using the army to drive tankers to alleviate the absence of drivers, at the same time downplaying the idea that loosening border restrictions to solve the workforce.
He has explained that workers in Eastern Europe had reduced the wages of British truckers for many years, that it was “wrong” to blame Brexit for the shortage of HGV operators. The UK is estimated to be short of around 100,000 HGV drivers, with the gap exacerbated by the pandemic and Brexit.
Possible turn in immigration policy
As reported by the British media, the Government, concerned about the harsh headlines in the media and the risk of a catastrophe ahead of the Christmas months, is planning to reverse the tightening of the immigration policy approved after Brexit.
According to these sources, the Council of Ministers is discussing approving temporary visas for European truckers, given that the shortage in the country cannot be covered in the short term with British drivers. It would be a temporary exemption from the new laws that only allow workers in professional sectors with degrees and well paid to travel to the country, a category that drivers were not in, as it is a job that does not require more qualification than a driver’s license. .
According to The Times, the Minister of the Interior, Priti Patel, at the head of the most intransigent group of ministers with Brexit, would have rejected these modifications, but Johnson himself would have joined the wing of the Executive more concerned about the effects on the economy and the society.
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