That is just mad . I could rant and rave but nothing will happen until some poor soul or souls are killed . With this crowd in power I doubt it will even then
I expect the government will announce shorter training for surgeons next. No need to learn how to stitch the body back up. Just cut out the bad bits and give the next of kin a stapler.
The next general election will be interesting and I wonder whether anyone other than the Liberals (remember them?) will be compaigning to re-join the EU? I can see it being an "issue" on the doorstep when people realise that the disadvantages far outweigh the advanatges. It will be quite interesting if there will be a referendum to re-join. I can envisage this being in someone's manifesto pledge and one of the three parties campaigning on the issue - I don't think that Johnson and his ilk will last too long in the Conservatives and will be intrigued how long the likes of Phil Hammond will take before they make their move. I have to say that I feel that all the main political parties would theoretically campaign to re-join as it is not a party-led issue and cuts across the political divides. It was noticeable this weekend doing my shop just how bare the shelves are and the combimation of drivers being pinged and Brexit is a double whammy that I feel will only get worse. Being a member of the EU is not perfect and I think that there are serious defects throughout the EU. However, the risks of being outside are only now starting to become apparent and I do not feel it will be long before we are at a point where there is a serious and concerted campaign to get us to re-join. I can see that happening within the next 2 years esepcially as leaving the EU has made no difference to the illegal immigrant situation as this is effectively an economic problem for the whole of the West including the States and even Australia. Regardless of Brexit, immigration is only going to increase as global warming, radical Islam / rampant nationalism and the arms industry of both the West and China have combined to create a situation where living in some parts of the world is no longer feasible. For me, it was the zenophobes who were against immigration who effectively drove the Brexit issue. People will stat to wake up to the fact that immigration and the EU are totally different, independent issues. The economic logic for Brexit was never there in the first place and the issues with "Project Fear" demonstrated how blaise the Brexiters were with the many very genuine concerns. Brexit was effectively a knee-jerk nationalist campaign with ill-thought logic trying to justify a world view which had ceased to be relevant in 1945. I am struck by how poorly our press and media has treated those pushing for Brexit to be held to account. Even Channel Four has not really held their feet to the fire. I cannot recall seeing the likes of Nigel Farage being door-stepped by journalists. He has disappeared off the face of the earth other than a few fleeting appearances on the South East coast where he is trying to highlight the issue of immigrants arriving on the beaches and about which nothing can be done now that we are outside the EU. I think it will eventually come to this and when the shortages become so severe as to affect everyone, I can envisage a lot of people being very angry with the likes of Farage. I hope that he is held to account.
I imagine the gutter press (in my opinion any media channel owned and/or operated by a millionaire/billionaire who locates most profits offshore to avoid tax and supports this abomination of a government) will spin the next general election to highlight the “scary what-if” anyone other than the Tories gets in - i.e. Unbelievably high tax for everyone, open doors to welfare scroungers, nationalisation of all industries, return to the “bad old days” of the 70s, etc. This will mean the idiots who believe all thus crap will toe the line (as the toffs want) and sheepishly vote the Tories back in. I’m already having huge (verbal) fights with my golfing buddies who repeatedly say “yeah, but imagine the mess if Corbyn had got in”, “the stupid EU not agreeing to us extending the BI protocol” and “why aren’t the french taking back all those bloody illegals …” And these are (supposedly) educated middle class men …… I despair ….. and may well be looking for a new golf club soon …… possibly in France
I wonder what my “Torygraph” reading, Brexit loving golfing partner will have to say about this (I love to wind him up about the “B word” when we meet)
i don’t believe the shortages are Brexit related (yet). The shortages are due to covid lockdowns and their knock on effect
No I’m being serious. The shortages are everywhere - America is being hit too. I think Brexit may have some impact and cause shortages in the future, but I don’t think it’s fair for people to blame Brexit right now. It just weakens the argument to blame Brexit for absolutely everything - it’s important to get the facts correct so we can see the **** show for what it is
Both Covid and Brexit can be blamed. Many HGV drivers for example have left the country because of Brexit. Fruit and veg is rotting unpicked because of a shortage of seasonal workers from Europe. Brexit was a stupid idea, made worse by the worst possible trade deal with the EU that even those in favour never imagined.
Brexit is definitely having an effect on shortages, the impact on HGV drivers was huge. We were already short of drivers before, but because of the extra paperwork, waiting around at ports and basically telling them they wasn’t welcome here anymore……they left. The amount of times I heard “send the bloody foreigners home” was shocking.
So you don’t think losing 1000s of HGV drivers, having returned to their own countries, is the major factor? As I understand it, most EU hauliers pay their drivers by the kilometre driven, not the hours worked. With so many delays at the border, CAUSED BY BREXIT, many EU drivers now refuse to cross the channel because all the time they are sat idle, waiting for paperwork clearance, they aren’t getting paid. What, before Brexit, might have been a 4 day round trip of, for example, 600 kilometres with no hold ups, can now become a 6 day trip BECAUSE of Brexit paperwork, induced holdups. The same distance, but a significant increase in hours taken for the journey, reduces their hourly rate of pay and opportunities to take on other runs. So, if drivers are refusing to cross the channel, hauliers this side have to take up the shortfall, which they are struggling to do because many of the drivers they previously employed have left the country. Plus, of course, there is the “just in time” delivery status that so many companies worked to, when there were no border delays. Deliveries were like clockwork, with fresh supplies for all industries arriving at regular times. That no longer happens and a further inconvenience to many businesses is that because they could rely on regular deliveries, pre-Brexit, they didn’t need large premises with areas to store excess, back up stock, which means that delays to deliveries now create empty shelves, in shops, or stop production lines in other industries. Covid will be playing a part in the delays, but the major factor, IMO, is Brexit increasing the shortages of HGV drivers.
No one is blaming brexit for everything. Reading reports from a number of trade and professional bodies brexit and the 'oven ready' trade deal carries a high proportion of the 'blame'. Those dealing with the issues are the people best placed to give a rational assessment.
Not in Europe, mate. My friends throughout Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands are ALL saying “business as usual” there with regards to supply chain issues. There’s just the small difference here of the U.K. not being part of the EU!
But, but, we've regained our sovereignty, haven't we? Everything is much better, as we're not governed by faceless European bureaucrats, and the empty shelves are probably down to having much larger shops after Brexit, or something
