Britain's Got Fuel Crisis Solving Strategies Unveiled
The UK is grappling with a fuel crisis, with thousands of petrol stations running dry. To address the situation, the British government announced a series of swift measures including the issuance of temporary work visas for 5,000 foreign HGV drivers and the suspension of competition laws to allow suppliers to deliver fuel to competing retailers.
The military is standing by to supply fuel, where it's most needed, according to Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. He stated that army drivers could be deployed to support deliveries. In a statement, he emphasized that this measure would create additional capacity for the supply chain and temporarily help reduce the pressure caused by the surge in local fuel demand.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public to resume normal fueling habits on Tuesday. He added that while the situation at petrol stations is improving, he empathizes with those affected by the prolonged scarcity.
Panic Buying
The Automobile Association (AA) advised calmness after the BP incident. For the second time within months, some stations temporarily closed due to labor shortages. Despite widespread ignorance, many Britons descended on fuel stations in the hope of securing supplies for the coming week.
Social media users reported long queues at stations across the country, with some motorists forced to leave their cars as their fuel had run out.
Exxon Mobil and other companies, such as Shell, assured the public last Sunday that the problems were due to a spike in demand, not a national fuel crisis.
The Petrol Retailers Association, representing independent petrol retailers, announced on Tuesday that there were signs of the tank crisis abating. They stated that approximately 37% of the 5,500 stations operated by their members were full, up from just half that number earlier in the week.
"This proportion is likely to increase further within the next 24 hours, due to regular refills," the group said.
However, despite improvements, the UK labor shortage situation remains a concern as the number of job openings exceeds the record 1 million figure. The pandemic and Brexit exacerbated the driver shortage, leading to many EU nationals leaves their jobs in the UK.
According to the Road Haulage Association, there will be around 100,000 HGV drivers in the UK soon. Last month, the British government declared that "a significant part of the solution" to the crisis would come from the industry itself and that it would not rely on foreign labor.
Diminishing Returns
Ruby McGregor-Smith, president of the British Chambers of Commerce, criticized the government's decision to issue temporary visas to 5,000 foreign truck drivers, calling it inadequate. She argued that without further measures, the UK's economic recovery, growth, and many businesses and consumers across the country would face a challenging winter.
Johnson emphasized on Tuesday it was unlikely that additional visas for foreign workers would be granted. "What we want is a focus on high wages, high skills – a highly productive economy. What the people of this country do not want is all problems to be solved by uncontrolled immigration," he said.
Brian Madsen, president of the Gasoline Retailers Association, pointed out that the military alone would not be enough to address the crisis. He suggested that the military personnel may not have the necessary training to fill tanks at fuel stations.
"It's not a miracle solution," he said on BBC Radio. "There's no one handle between government and industry that can solve this problem."
BP announced on Sunday that it had seen a "strong demand" and that around 30% of its 1,200 outlets in the UK were not offering both main fuel types. The company stated it was working hard to replenish stocks as quickly as possible.
Shell welcomed the government's measures on Monday and said that the high demand in its network had led to a shortage of supplies at certain stations, which they were working to fix.
Sainsbury's, which operates fuel stations in some of its supermarkets, said it was facing high demand. "We have a high demand for fuel. We are working closely with our suppliers to maintain supply, and all our stations will continue to receive fuel," the company stated.
Supermarkets Morrisons and Tesco also confirmed they were working to ensure supplies to their customers.
References
- Anna Cooban, Chris Liakos, and Hanna Ziady contributed to the reporting.
- Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the number of visas the UK government was offering to foreign lorry drivers was incorrectly reported.
The British government is addressing the fuel shortage crisis through several measures, although the military's role is not explicitly mentioned in recent reports. Here are the key points:
- Recruitment of Drivers: The government is considering recruiting 200,000 new HGV drivers over the next five years to prevent a repeat of the 2021 driver shortage, which led to petrol and diesel shortages and necessitated military intervention to deliver fuel.
- Strategic Fuel Poverty Plan: The government is currently consulting on a new fuel poverty strategy to address the issue of households struggling with high energy bills and fuel poverty. This strategy aims to ensure that more fuel-poor households are improved to a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C by 2030.
- Energy Market Reform: The government is committed to a clean energy transition, which includes plans to make the energy market fairer and to provide energy efficiency upgrades and new low-carbon home technologies to reduce bills. This plan is part of the broader effort to tackle social injustices like fuel poverty and achieve net zero emissions by 2030.
- Historical Context: In the past, during the Winter of Discontent in 1978-1979, the government considered using the military to manage fuel distribution. The situation was so severe that the Cabinet Office prepared to implement "Operation Drumstick," which would have involved the Army taking over from tanker drivers. However, this plan was not implemented due to opposition and the eventual settlement of the strike.
