Opinion

HGV crisis a major problem for Boris Johnson's government

Food shortages, panic-buying of fuel in England and warnings of a potential shortage of turkeys at Christmas have sparked fears we could be facing another ‘winter of discontent’.

The 1978-79 crisis saw a strike by oil tanker drivers who were unhappy at the Labour government's attempt to impose a five per cent limit on pay rises.

Within hours of the strike, petrol supplies had started to run out and the oil companies were eventually forced to agree to higher wages.

More than 40 years on, we are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels.

Although there are no reported issues with fuel supplies in Northern Ireland, which the Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) has attributed to a lack of panic buying, drivers in England have experienced widespread problems.

The PRA, which represents around 5,500 independent outlets, said up to 90 per cent of its members had run out of fuel and predicted that the rest would soon follow.

The Royal College of Midwives has appealed to drivers not to panic buy, saying some ambulances and health care staff, including community midwives, cannot get enough fuel to travel to people in need.

While panic buying has caused serious issues, the crisis has highlighted wider problems around a shortage of HGV drivers.

Industries including supermarkets and fast food chains have been hit by a lack of drivers in recent months.

Despite being an essential and highly-skilled role, HGV jobs are frequently poorly paid.

The job involves long hours of driving and sleeping in lorry cabs, often without access to washing facilities.

Many drivers have found the working conditions incompatible with family life. No wonder that the average age of a lorry driver in Britain is 55 - showing how few young people are attracted by the job.

There is also a huge administrative backlog in processing professional HGV licences, with thousands still to be dealt with by the DVLA.

While other European countries, including Germany, have reported a shortage of drivers, Britain’s problems have been severely exacerbated by Brexit.

Around 72,000 drivers left the industry between the second quarter of 2019 and the same period in 2021, partly due to people returning to EU countries.

On Saturday, the British government announced it would offer temporary visas, lasting until Christmas Eve, to 5,000 foreign fuel tanker and food lorry drivers and 5,500 poultry workers in a bid to stave off predicted shortages.

Since the UK’s exit from the EU in January, the government has consistently told firms to invest in British labour and not to rely on workers from the European bloc.

Yet by offering temporary visas, the government has undermined its own message.

The offer of temporary visas is an insult to EU workers and does not take into account the practicalities of where drivers will live for three months.

If the government does not take broader action, including slashing the processing backlog for HGV licences, then people in Britain could be facing a very unmerry Christmas.