In the fight against an acute shortage of truck drivers in Great Britain, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has tabled an unusual proposal. “We have let prisoners and criminals work voluntarily and unpaid,” said Raab – Justice Minister since the recent cabinet reshuffle – the “Spectator”. “Why not let them do paid work when there are bottlenecks, if there is an economic and social benefit?”
It is estimated that the UK is currently lacking more than 100,000 truck drivers. This creates major problems, especially at UK gas stations. Because no longer enough tank trucks were able to bring the fuel to the spot, countless filling stations have been left on the dry land in the past few days. Even supermarkets have already had shortages of some products.
After the government had called on the population not to panic buying, the situation worsened: there were long queues in front of those petrol stations that still had petrol and diesel in stock. Now the cabinet seems to have learned from its mistakes. The BBC reported, citing internal documents, that the government had ordered municipalities not to use the words “panic” or “panic buying” in their communications regarding fuel.
Yesterday the government in London assured that the massive bottlenecks at the petrol stations were under control. “This crisis is now absolutely something that is under control,” said Finance Secretary of State Simon Clarke. According to eyewitnesses, there are still long lines around the capital. Many petrol pumps are still out of order. In the past few days, some customers had fought for gasoline, and many also hoarded when it was their turn after a long wait.
The Association of Independent Petrol Stations, which represents around two-thirds of the 8,380 British petrol stations, announced on Wednesday that 27 percent of the member companies were out of petrol.
In Europe, the UK’s exit from the EU is cited as the main reason for the bottlenecks, which meant that many truckers are no longer allowed to work on the island. The UK government rejects this assessment.
