Well done the BBC

[Auberg-ine]

I wonder if other EU countries are experiencing similar delays in processing imports from the UK.

I heard from my marine accessories supplier this weekend that they were shifting their trade with UK-based brands towards the Italian market, simply because of unreliable and extremely long delivery delays. Seems it all got into a sour cocktail. Covexitraffics.
Just never waste a good crisis. It's indeed time to review wages, tax shifts, supply chains,...
Here in Brussels city-farming is hot these days, eating intercontinental fresh food a sin, drinking, ok this has never been a long chain here ;-).
Serious, men need crisis to wake up, always has been, and he always was late. If fact-checked media is zooming in on these stresses, perhaps not all that bad then.
So, embrace the thought of having pigeons for X-mass, the new era afterward will be bright and full of London turkeys, you lucky birds!

 

[Velma's Dad]

...in the past to pre-empt this problem and as far as fuel is concerned once the lemmings have filled up they can’t fill up again until they have used it.

Lemmings aren't actually a good analogy as their (mythical) propensity is to throw themselves collectively off cliffs, which would be truly irrational. On the other hand. pulling in to a petrol station to brim your tank which you usually are content to run down to the warning light is not at all irrational, if you believe there will possibly be a sudden run on fuel stations - which was a correct analysis over the weekend. The cost to you of the top-up is effectively nil (assuming you have the cash at bank), while it reduces your exposure to a real risk of not being able to go to work, or travel to see Mum, or whatever, in the coming week. It may be selfish, but not necessarily stupid at all.

But as we're talking rodents... I believe the relevant German expression for so-called panic buying is "Hamsterverkauf", which I think is lovely, and appropriate: hamsters NEVER say to each other "why don't you just keep your cheek pouches only a quarter full?".

Oh well, too much coffee.

 

[flying banana]

Governments fault all around the world for shutting down the economy. Simple as that. Also people should stop driving their kids a mile up the road to school. Use your legs and get the kids to use theirs like we all used to do.

 

[Amarillo]

I have a cunning plan. Let’s look for a willing workforce of young people wanting to come to Britain to work and add to our economy and retrain them as HGV drivers.

We don’t need to look further than the beaches of Calais.

 

[WelshGas]

I have a cunning plan. Let’s look for a willing workforce of young people wanting to come to Britain to work and add to our economy and retrain them as HGV drivers.

We don’t need to look further than the beaches of Calais.

No, as they are not refugees having passed through safe countries to cross the channel.
But the Afghanistan refugees airlifted out and those from the Syrian and other refugee camps - Yes.

 

[Amarillo]

No, as they are not refugees having passed through safe countries to cross the channel.
But the Afghanistan refugees airlifted out and those from the Syrian and other refugee camps - Yes.

I’ll go with that. Pluck the likeliest from the camps in Lebanon and the ones bound to spring up on the Afghan/Pakistan border.

 

[Mickyb123]

BBC headline

Aldi says deliveries normal despite lorry driver shortage​

read the actual article and listen to the interview on the BBC no mention is actually made of any driver shortages by the Aldi chief exec? In fact in the interview he is happy and confident that they will have no problems continuing supply.
Why the misleading headline?Its this sort of reporting caused the current fuel issue

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

“Fuel crisis: Labour says driver shortages due to government's 'chronic lack of planning and sheer incompetence”

Very predictably the opposition government and many EU politicians are blaming the UK Government for driver shortages.

So here’s a question that will undoubtedly spark some debate

Since when has it been the government’s responsibility to recruit staff in the Private Sector?

 

[OGII]

You (almost) couldn't make this up:

Petrol station chaos worsened by motorists filling up with wrong fuel

More than five times as many people as usual in the UK put diesel in their petrol engine or vice versa

www.theguardian.com

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Don’t panic Captain Mainwaring

 

[Jandy61]

We are 50 miles from our next site, near St Ives, we have 40 miles range showing on our dash and can’t risk the drive across towing the caravan, the nearest garage, 3 miles away has had no fuel delivery since Thursday, ran out on Saturday, we check the garage twice a day but still no deliveries and the other garages we are told are empty too, was only meant to be on current site one night, we arrived Saturday maybe one day, we may be able to continue our holiday...

 

[Velma's Dad]

“Fuel crisis: Labour says driver shortages due to government's 'chronic lack of planning and sheer incompetence”

Very predictably the opposition government and many EU politicians are blaming the UK Government for driver shortages.

So here’s a question that will undoubtedly spark some debate

Since when has it been the government’s responsibility to recruit staff in the Private Sector?

I don't think anyone's seriously suggesting the government should be recruiting private sector staff. However, maintaining the right conditions for resilient capacity in critical public services and infrastructure certainly is a government responsibility, and even more so when external shocks (eg the UK's hard exit from the EU, which was a political decision) are caused by the government itself. The government unavoidably controls numerous key factors in the long-term labour supply system, notably in this case driver testing and licensing (reportedly there's a backlog of 40,000 HGV licences at Swansea at the moment) and in the even longer term it controls the critical public infrastructure for things that affect companies' ability to attract and retain staff (eg decent overnight parking facilities for lorry drivers on trunk routes so they don't have to crap in a hedge by a layby). They also need to be trusted to act quickly and appropriately when 'market failure' occurs, although as we've seen in the past few days, by then it's usually too late.


(From The Times)

 

[Calimili]

You (almost) couldn't make this up:

Petrol station chaos worsened by motorists filling up with wrong fuel

More than five times as many people as usual in the UK put diesel in their petrol engine or vice versa

www.theguardian.com

Fuel Angels running out of stock too!

 

[Mickyb123]

What is good to see is HGV driver testing standards are being maintained and not short cut.
Friend of mine just taken her class 1 test. Only error rear wheel mounted the kerb while entering a roundabout, mandatory failure.
Comment from tester was that he really didn’t want to fail as it was the one error but no leeway allowed.
Sad thing is had this been a test in her primary job (airline pilot) a single item failure in the airline world can be retested immediately in the same testing session!

Agree with grumpy grandad though, private sector mis management and recruitment cannot be put at sitting govt desk. It’s interesting how some companies have managed the situation much better.

 

[dartmoordingoe]

The vote for Brexit was secure. The decision for a Hard Brexit was a governmental one. Having made that decision the short term consequences of such a decision were obvious imho and therefore whatever long term benefits might accrue they should have planned for this shortage. The short term plan outlined will again imho fail. I suspect it needs to be at least 2 years did indeed will have to be elongated if it is to have any real impact.
We are blessed with having juveniles at the wheel and a very weak opposition. Tragic

 

[soulstyledevon]

Didn’t vote Boris in.
His Premiership so far is an utter disgrace.
Can’t believe he beat Hunt to the post of leader. What a mistake the Tories made that day.
I won’t vote Tory again until Boris has gone…!!!

 

[Louis II]

You (almost) couldn't make this up:

Petrol station chaos worsened by motorists filling up with wrong fuel

More than five times as many people as usual in the UK put diesel in their petrol engine or vice versa

www.theguardian.com

Seems obvious to me.
Classic case of a story where one doesn’t exist.
Higher activity leads to higher errors but probably not a higher proportion of errors.
It’s just all the halfwits who would have put the wrong fuel in over the next week or so did it all at once at the weekend.

 

[Jodalo]

Breaking News!!! BBC have just broadcast an aerial view of a fuel tanker leaving a fuel depot for delivery to a petrol station. The sort of broadcast you get when the PM goes to visit HRH and obviously equally as important.

 

[Amarillo]

Breaking News!!! BBC have just broadcast an aerial view of a fuel tanker leaving a fuel depot for delivery to a petrol station. The sort of broadcast you get when the PM goes to visit HRH and obviously equally as important.

I hear locally of people following tankers… and ending up at the Purfleet refinery gates.

I have to say the situation has been pretty dire here in SE London with gridlocked roads caused by queues to the filling stations. Yesterday I had to turn around on my way to the Eltham B&Q and go to the Sidcup one instead because of gridlock.

Quite by chance we brimmed both cars Saturday before last, and that’s good for about a month during term time.

 

[flying banana]

i bet the bBC won't show this Texaco near me that has not just no queue but no one there at all at just 8pm!!!and still plenty of diesel and unleaded. Strangely sold out of premium diesel first unless regular has been stocked up recently..its just idiots who are out driving to the shops and picking kids up during the day causing the chaos. There really is no need to panic. I could fill my van and car there right now but then I am one of them. So I've come to the pub instead .

 

[Velma's Dad]

Strangely sold out of premium diesel first unless regular has been stocked up recently..

I heard on telly earlier (might have been the Beeb ) that some retailers have chosen to not replenish with premium grades so they can use available tanker capacity to bring in the basic petrol and diesel. (Which now I think of it seems odd because I'd have thought most panic-buyers would be happy to pay the extra for premium anyway...)

 

[Mickyb123]

Cracking plan going to the pub

 

[andyinluton]

i bet the bBC won't show this Texaco near me that has not just no queue but no one there at all at just 8pm!!!and still plenty of diesel and unleaded. Strangely sold out of premium diesel first unless regular has been stocked up recently..its just idiots who are out driving to the shops and picking kids up during the day causing the chaos. There really is no need to panic. I could fill my van and car there right now but then I am one of them. So I've come to the pub instead .

View attachment 85010

Can you post me a jerry can full please? only one open round here & the roads near it are gridlocked.

We were counting up earlier, we think we are down to about 9 places to buy petrol round here, 10 years ago it was at least twice that number maybe 3 times.

 

[flying banana]

Can you post me a jerry can full please? only one open round here & the roads near it are gridlocked.

We were counting up earlier, we think we are down to about 9 places to buy petrol round here, 10 years ago it was at least twice that number maybe 3 times.

Ha. Think I'll even fill up my glove box. Water tank and fridge with diesel. There is so much to buy. Although I hear the water tank one has been tried before

 

[Mickyb123]

We were counting up earlier, we think we are down to about 9 places to buy petrol round here, 10 years ago it was at least twice that number maybe 3 times.

technically that should work in your favour, one third less outlets surely that needs 1 third less HGV drivers to deliver to less sites