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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

I know Brexit has been done to death!

50 replies

Pollypenguin01 · 04/08/2019 10:07

I know everyone is sick to the back teeth of Brexit and threads about Brexit but In all seriousness should I be doing anything to plan for a no deal?

I have read the stockpiling threads and although I don’t want to go to quite that extent should I have a bit extra put aside?

I did have a few extra tins, couple bags of rice just before March but obviously used it all up and sort of didn’t bother to re stock or even think about it too much, but as it’s looming close again I’m wondering if it’s ok to not worry about getting in extra stuff?
I sort of feel bad and like a rubbish person if I don’t have a stockpile but quite honestly it does cost quite a bit extra to stock up and it’s a pain in the arse storing it, rotating it and using it up!

What are you doing about a stockpile?

OP posts:

Ivegotthree · 04/08/2019 12:55

Nothing. Mad stockpiling will create problems where there were none.

whyamidoingthis · 04/08/2019 12:56

@Ivegotthree - Nothing. Mad stockpiling will create problems where there were none.

You obviously don't understand how supply chains work either.

Hazardtired · 04/08/2019 12:58

I live in Ireland

Fun fact for us Brits living with the effects of a coercive abuse leave campaign. Ireland makes more food then it's people can eat, we don't make enough food for our population, we need to envy Ireland.

Hopefully us being green with envy will make our lands as plentiful but perhaps that's not how growing things works

Fragalino · 04/08/2019 13:06

Op I don't think buying some extra bags of pasta or stuff like that, gently leading up to brexit will do any harm.
It's inflation I'm more worried about.

Also whilst nothing can be guaranteed actually preparations have been put in motion for no deal and will intensify now.
There are bound to be hiccups and unforseen consequences.... But it will be fine.

twofingerstoEverything · 04/08/2019 13:07

Nothing. Mad stockpiling will create problems where there were none.

Fucking hell. Yet more intelligent thinking.

whyamidoingthis · 04/08/2019 13:08

@Hazardtired - Ireland makes more food then it's people can eat

We do have that going for us but I've gotten used to eating nice exotic fruit and veg that don't grow here. Ah well, I guess nothing wrong with a diet of potatoes and buttermilk. After all, we did have the healthiest peasants in Europe before the famine.

whyamidoingthis · 04/08/2019 13:14

@Fragalino - But it will be fine.

I think that's very naive. Preparations in the UK seem to be way behind those in the rest of the EU. There has been advice in Ireland to companies on how to prepare for brexit for the past couple of years. I may be wrong, but it only seems to be happening seriously in the UK recently enough? Things may be fine eventually, but in the short to medium term, a no deal brexit will cause major disruption.

The EU have offered some good will concessions in the event of no deal. However, if Johnson keeps going they way he's going, they may be short lived.

SilverySurfer · 04/08/2019 13:20

Mark Carney, is a scaremongering remainer and I pay no heed to him. I have a few extra items in store but that has absolutely nothing to do with Brexit and everything to do with having a mother who always filled her cupboards to the max for 'a rainy day' and I carried on the tradition.

Fragalino · 04/08/2019 13:22

Ok so someone is naive there will be carnage unleashed.. What can any of us do?

Socksontheradiator · 04/08/2019 13:23

Who would you recommend we listen to then, @SilverySurfer?
I understand that Mark Carney is stepping down, and his replacement (I forget the name) is pro leave. Even he has said there will be disruption to begin with.

Socksontheradiator · 04/08/2019 13:28

Ok it is likely to be Gerard Lyons, very pro brexit.
Mark Carney is not all doom and gloom. He is quoted as saying that our economy could drive ahead, with a deal.
Whomever you choose to believe, it's still worth stocking up.

slashlover · 04/08/2019 13:33

I don't know anyone in RL who is.

Nobody knows I'm dong it, I don't want people showing up at my door because they know I have stuff.

Nothing. Mad stockpiling will create problems where there were none.

How has me buying some extra rice/pasta/tins a month ago done that? Are you confusing stockpiling and panic buying?

whyamidoingthis · 04/08/2019 13:35

@Fragalino - Ok so someone is naive there will be carnage unleashed.. What can any of us do?

There's a massive space between fine and carnage!

I think the sensible thing to do is create a buffer and hope that it's not needed. In the event of no deal, I think it is pretty much guaranteed that there will be disruption. It is just the level of disruption that is uncertain. If the disruption is mild, then a little inconvenience is all that happens. If it is major, then things get a little more hairy.

InTheHeatofLisbon · 04/08/2019 13:35

Aye people stockpiling will cause empty supermarkets and not the supply chains to said supermarkets being paused/changed by brexit.

Unicorns are real, and the land of milk and honey awaits post brexit.

Meanwhile in the real world.....

I always have a stockpile OP, tins, dried food, freezer stuff etc. Probably goes back to remembering what it's like to be on the bones of my arse and not having the basics.

That said, I'm more than prepared to share my stockpile if needed, and regularly put into foodbanks and will do so after Brexit too.

Toilet rolls were on offer at Costco for a while so if anyone needs any I've got plenty!

Disruption is forecast for a minimum of 6 weeks post brexit (best case scenario) so that's a reasonable timeframe for starters.

Fragalino · 04/08/2019 13:42

Yes, I said that, create a buffer or buy if the op wants too.

Socksontheradiator · 04/08/2019 13:48

And unless people are willing to get actively involved in politics, supporting Remain, lobbying politician, getting educated and voting wisely, filling a stock cupboard and hoping for the best is the sensible thing to do.
In case brexiteers don't hear this in enough, REMAINERS HOPE YOU ARE RIGHT!

We just don't think you are!

gamerchick · 04/08/2019 13:50

Can people not tell the difference between stockpiling and panic buying? Christ

Stockpiling is sensible because people collectively are thick. If you want to join those people in the supermarket who ring the police when KFC runs out of chicken because you haven't prepared in advance when stock could be replaced easily, then you crack on with that.

Makes no odds to those that do.

Hazardtired · 04/08/2019 14:03

Ok so the general consenus for OP is...

Leavers on the thread are being very doomsday about panic buying which is fair enough they are a negative lot. Remainers are generally pro a stockpile of some sort but also in agreement panic buying is unhelpful to a greater or lesser extent.

So OP DON'T PANIC BUY but the general consenus amoungst the population is a full pantry is always a good and a few extra bits on top of that is dandy.

No one mention inflation. So many of us are fucked if/when costs rise.

MsAdventures · 04/08/2019 14:07

Well don’t do what I did and stockpile gin and chocolate in the run-up to the March deadline.

This has now all been transferred to my hips as I had to dig into my stash to combat generalised Brexit anxiety.

Bloody Brexit is making me fat!

I suppose it might well make me thin again the way things are going.

On a serious note, if you can afford it you have nothing to lose by building up some reserves of things you would eat/use anyway. It’s hard to predict what exactly will happen (it’s doing my head in for sure) but you’ll feel calmer if you’ve done what is within your power to give you a bit of buffer.

I still find it mind boggling that we even have to contemplate potential food shortages. In the 21st century! In a supposedly developed, peaceful country!

IVflytrap · 04/08/2019 14:23

I've been getting a few extra bits and pieces in. Mainly tins and dried food as I have barely any freezer space. Also cleaning products, dried herbs and spices, flour etc. If you have the space and can afford to, it would definitely be worth getting stuff in. But you really should be doing it within the next couple of months, tapering off as we get closer to October. Buying now is fine as the supermarkets currently have the capacity to easily replace stock, but you want to avoid buying up too much stuff close to or immediately Brexit Day. Many people won't have stocked up at all before then, so if there's any indication at all of either inflation or problems with the supply chain, that's when panic buying happens. Having food in before then leaves more available for people who weren't able to stock up.

My thoughts are: I hope we'll be fine, and there won't be prices hikes or shortages, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared in case there are. If everything stays exactly the same and all the worry was for nothing, then, wonderful. We can gradually use up our un-needed stash over the winter and have a bit more money left over for Christmas. Or donate it to food banks.

Fragalino · 04/08/2019 15:01

Does it matter what ref position people are? Surely it's prudent to be pro active in life and cover ones self for any eventuality?

None of us know what will happen on brexit day, I imagine very little because immediate issues will be covered. However I strongly suspect any real issues will emerge a few months after, that's when any unforseen circs will raise their head.

Op as said as pp said some stock's will never do harm, however do remember this forum is claustrophobic on some issues and some posters get themselves into a huge tizz and frenzy and no one can calm them down.

So prepare but there is no point in panicking.

cranstonmanor · 04/08/2019 15:07

You shouldn't have a stockpile just for Brexit, you should always have a stockpile for unforeseen events. You could get snowed in, or too sick to do shopping, or another chernobyl (I lived in eastern europe at the time and not even close, the shops were cleared out of drinks and bin bags for some reason). It just makes sense to always have enough food/drink/sanitaries to last you a week. Do that: first figure out what you need for a week. If you want to you can add more to last you for longer, but start with the one week, it's easier to handle.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 04/08/2019 15:09

It is the stupidity of people stockpiling who will create shortage problems in the country

Trying to find a scapegoat already?

It's the stupidity of those who voted for Brexit that will create shortages and problems.

NoBaggyPants · 04/08/2019 15:14

As well as looking at your food supplies, it's a good time to look at your finances and see if you can cut down on your outgoings. Inflation could become a real issue and if you're just about managing now, that will tip you into deficit/ not managing.

Hazardtired · 04/08/2019 15:16

Does it matter what ref position people are?

No. If you voted leave not expecting shortages but now conclude that will be and that concerns you because you have a conscience then to me it doesn't matter how you voted and I hope you do alright. We're all in it together.

But

If you voted leave expecting shortages you are an arsehole imo. You knowingly wanted to cause suffering? I just can't bare the thought of someone doing that and then happily munching on their cushy stockpile while inflation cripples others.

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