Dr Strangelove (how I learned to stop worrying and love Boris)

[Smug in Boots]

UK haulage industry forced to train army of homegrown drivers to cope with Brexit.

Financial Times today.
https://www.ft.com/content/13a0a9f5-5db6-488c-9860-18bd74fd2572

Judd will be joining a new post-Brexit army of homegrown truck drivers that the UK haulage industry has been forced to train since an acute driver shortage closed petrol forecourts and emptied supermarket shelves in 2021. Two years on from that crisis, industry leaders and logistics trade bodies, report that the crisis has triggered a restructuring of the driver industry leading to higher costs and wage increases of 20 to 30 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, but also a steadier pipeline of younger British drivers. “I’m not sure it’s exactly a Brexit ‘success story’,” said Lee Juniper, FreshLinc’s boss, who has trained nearly 200 drivers since opening his own on-site driver school 18 months ago. “We’ve solved the problem, but we’ve had to pay through the nose for it.”

No doubt this will all be explained away by someone claiming Senegal has a similar problem and nothing to do with Brexit ...

... despite the experts involved saying it absolutely is.

 

[DH4]

UK haulage industry forced to train army of homegrown drivers to cope with Brexit.

Financial Times today.
https://www.ft.com/content/13a0a9f5-5db6-488c-9860-18bd74fd2572

Judd will be joining a new post-Brexit army of homegrown truck drivers that the UK haulage industry has been forced to train since an acute driver shortage closed petrol forecourts and emptied supermarket shelves in 2021. Two years on from that crisis, industry leaders and logistics trade bodies, report that the crisis has triggered a restructuring of the driver industry leading to higher costs and wage increases of 20 to 30 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, but also a steadier pipeline of younger British drivers. “I’m not sure it’s exactly a Brexit ‘success story’,” said Lee Juniper, FreshLinc’s boss, who has trained nearly 200 drivers since opening his own on-site driver school 18 months ago. “We’ve solved the problem, but we’ve had to pay through the nose for it.”

No doubt this will all be explained away by someone claiming Senegal has a similar problem and nothing to do with Brexit ...

... despite the experts involved saying it absolutely is.

The list of "benefits" of "Brexit grows longer and longer with every passing week.

 

[The Exile II]

The list of "benefits" of "Brexit grows longer and longer with every passing week.

Like the benefit of training more British people to do the job for reasonable money instead of being undercut by foreigners working for thirty groats a fortnight?

It seems you're only for good jobs for workers when it suits your ideology.

 

[Smug in Boots]

The list of "benefits" of "Brexit grows longer and longer with every passing week.

It does show that not all cost increases, up to 30% in this case, can be blamed on Covid, Putin or Diane Abbott ...

... that 20/30% increase will no doubt be pushed onto consumers.

I said Brexit would take ten years to show any reasonable benefits, I think I was wrong.

 

[DH4]

It does show that not all cost increases up to 30% in this case, can be blamed on Covid, Putin or Diane Abbott ...

... that 20/30% increase will no doubt be pushed onto consumers.

I said Brexit would take ten years to show any reasonable benefits, I think I was wrong.

Well you always were an optimist . In my humble opinion there will never be any benefits to it, and even if there were to be some, the people that voted for it will be pushing up daisies before they occur.

 

[Smug in Boots]

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Tue 9th May 2023 19.45

"A key government pledge to reduce the size of the NHS’s record-breaking care backlog has been broken, the health secretary has admitted."

"The failure to eradicate 18-month waits for care is embarrassing for Rishi Sunak, who made “cut waiting lists” one of his five key pledges and insisted as recently as January that the promise would be honoured."

Up next, an announcement that the pledge to 'stop the boats' has been broken.

The barge they're preparing, to sit on the Dorset coast, couldn't take all the illegals who arrived this weekend

 

[Saf]

The lack of professional drivers on the market is not only a European problem, but also a global one! The situation has not been improved by rising salaries, as the working conditions in road transport still remain difficult. While the post-pandemic economy is accelerating the shortages are growing. This has been confirmed by the latest research conducted by International Road Transport Union (IRU).

The most recent data on drivers’ shortage

According to the latest research published in 2022 by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), in Europe there is currently a shortage of 380,000 truck drivers, which accounts for about 10% of the total demand. The IRU has predicted, that by the end of the year this shortfall may increase to 14%. This data is the result of surveys conducted among 744 transport operators from 15 European countries. Globally, 1.5 thousand companies from 25 countries were questioned.

Between 2020 and 2021 alone, drivers’ shortages in Europe increased by 40%. According to the IRU, Romania alone lacks 71,000 professional drivers, Poland and Germany miss 80,000 while in Great Britain transport companies are in need of up to 100,000 professionals. The situation is better in Eurasia, where in 2021 the numbers remained unchanged compared to the previous year. It is much worse in Mexico, where shortages increased by 30% to 54,000 drivers missing and in China, which saw a record increase in shortages by 140%, which translates into 1.8 million jobs.

https://truckmobility-info.com/shortage-of-drivers-in-the-eu/

 

[Saf]

Driver shortage is devastating for the EU economy, warn business and politicians

Whether it is getting children to school or delivering food to our supermarket shelves, business and politicians came to together at an event organised by IRU to sound the alarm that Europe needs drivers – a lot more drivers.

https://www.theparliamentmagazine.e...-the-eu-economy-warn-business-and-politicians

 

[Saf]

Like the benefit of training more British people to do the job for reasonable money instead of being undercut by foreigners working for thirty groats a fortnight?

It seems you're only for good jobs for workers when it suits your ideology.

Exactly. The full industry is struggling because of a shortage of young drivers.

Smug posted this...

but also a steadier pipeline of younger British drivers. “We’ve solved the problem

Sounds like a Brexit success and just what the industry needs. I wonder if all the EU countries have solved their driver shortages yet...

 

[Saf]

More food shortages coming... At least Brexit has saved this from happening to our farmers.

The European Union has approved controversial plans for the Dutch government to forcibly buy out livestock farms as part of plans to cut nitrogen emissions.

But the plans have triggered a huge backlash from farmers and caused a wave of farmer-led protests across the country.

The Dutch public and prominent politicians and celebrities have also come out in strong support of farmers.

Farmers’ protest party BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-Citizen Movement), led by former agriculture journalist Caroline van der Plas, stunned Dutch politics in March by taking 17 seats in the provincial senate elections, making it by far the largest party.

Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek condemned the plans on her Twitter account, accusing the EU and Dutch government of “putting a knife to the farmers’ throats”.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/eu-approves-dutch-plan-to-forcibly-close-farms

 

[Saf]

Labour MPs lambast own party after senior aide who allegedly groped intern keeps job

Labour has been engulfed by a sleaze row after an aide who allegedly groped an intern kept his job despite Sir Keir Starmer's pledge of zero tolerance towards sexual harassment.

The party came under fire from its own MPs and activists unimpressed by its reported handling of claims made about a senior member of staff.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...1&cvid=760dacbf450a4247a601844427a34334&ei=31

 

[Saf]

European economists forced to admit errors in doom-mongering forecasts for UK: 'We were wrong, plain and simple'

Gloomy analysts have admitted it was “wrong” to underestimate Britain's economic prospects after new forecasts reveal that the pound will rise sharply against the dollar.

Investment bank Citi has disregarded a previous prediction that the pound would drop to parity with the dollar following the mini-budget.

New predictions suggest that sterling could rise towards $1.30 at the start of next year.

Currently the pound is trading close to a one-year high against the dollar at $1.26 after an economic activity boost and more durable housing market.

According to Vasileios Gkionakis, head of European foreign exchange strategy at Citi, predictions of a “material correction” in house prices and a collapse in consumption fell through.

“We have been wrong, plain, and simple," Gkionakis wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/oth...1&cvid=c4a32a8e41c744de9c29820992bf8bcd&ei=21

 

[Smug in Boots]

Trump's Mini-Me strikes again

Boris Johnson's taxpayer-funded legal bill rises to £245,000
10 May 2023

Taxpayers are being billed up to £245,000 to cover the cost of Boris Johnson's Partygate inquiry lawyers.

The former PM is being investigated by MPs over whether he misled them over lockdown parties in Downing Street.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65401587.amp

 

[DH4]

Trump's Mini-Me strikes again

Boris Johnson's taxpayer-funded legal bill rises to £245,000
10 May 2023

Taxpayers are being billed up to £245,000 to cover the cost of Boris Johnson's Partygate inquiry lawyers.

The former PM is being investigated by MPs over whether he misled them over lockdown parties in Downing Street.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65401587.amp

That £245k figure is roughly 58 years unemployment benefit. Boris Johnson world class "scrounger"

 

[Smug in Boots]

That £245k figure is roughly 58 years unemployment benefit. Boris Johnson world class "scrounger"

He's earning millions on his 'A night with Boris' tour ...

... but shamelessly prefers to scrounge taxpayers money.

Or 'charisma' as his man crush fan club call it

 

[The Exile II]

Quick, change subjects!

 

[Smug in Boots]

Anyone vote for this shower?

UKIP on brink of wipeout after losing all seats in local elections

 

[Smug in Boots]

Sorry, I was wrong about boats being the next broken pledge.

"Tory MPs have launched scathing attacks on the government for U-turning on its decision to remove all EU legislation from UK law by the end of 2023."

"Staunch Brexiteers within the Conservative ranks have criticised the change, with former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg accusing Mr Sunak of "behaving like a Borgia".

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/who-...s-line-up-to-criticise-eu-law-u-turn-12878350

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Tue 9th May 2023 19.45

"A key government pledge to reduce the size of the NHS’s record-breaking care backlog has been broken, the health secretary has admitted."

"The failure to eradicate 18-month waits for care is embarrassing for Rishi Sunak, who made “cut waiting lists” one of his five key pledges and insisted as recently as January that the promise would be honoured."

Up next, an announcement that the pledge to 'stop the boats' has been broken.

The barge they're preparing, to sit on the Dorset coast, couldn't take all the illegals who arrived this weekend

 

[FellTop]

Tobias Ellwood has called for cross party working party into the politics of hate, which to be honest is what we have in parliament. Sadly it didnt take long for a labour MP to say no. Too many of our MPs these days dont have the ability to do anything other than screech and shout and object, or call each other names and lie about each other, way beyond them to have any sort of consensus. The only thing they seem to have in common is the ability to behave terribly.

 

[DELETED ACCOUNT 1234]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65555262

Not exactly the right thread for this but seems as good as any, given where the conversation may go.

I have a lot of experience with TransPennine Experience and very little of it is positive. First Group have provided a dreadful service for far too long and it's excellent news that they've lost the contract.

1 in 5 trains will now be effectively ran by Nationalised companies within Britain. Privatisation of our railways has been a complete failure. The public pick up the bill on one side as National Rail are responsible for infrastructure but then also pay the price of profiteering corporation's on the other side of the deal too.

Time to Re-Nationalise in my opinion. Set up a new "British Rail" (with a look at how successful nations do it) and take contracts back one by one as they expire.