AIBU to think that the BBC and other news outlets are reporting that the lack of lorry drivers and care workers is caused by Covid alone and that they are deliberately ignoring Brexit?

[Aurorashields99]

And if you agree, why do you think this is the case? Surely Brexit is as much to blame for these issues so why are they not reporting this fairly?

I must have watched half a dozen news stories over the past few days in which reporters only mention Covid as being the cause of empty shelves in the supermarket and the shortage of care workers. If Brexit is referred to at all, it is only mentioned fleetingly.

Of course Covid has had a heavy impact on these sectors too but it's not the only factor is it? So why is Brexit being ignored?

I am not a journalist or a troll. I have been a member of Mumsnet since 2003.

And yes I know there is a Brexit topic elsewhere but (a) I am interested in people's votes and (b) not being able to discuss this in AIBU and confining this thread to the Brexit topic is the perfect example of the issue I am complaining about here.

And it is allowing Boris Johnson and Michael Gove to cover their tracks and not to have to face the consequences of their actions. Covid is providing the perfect cover for them both.

Why aren't reporters doing their job and reporting the facts fairly? Why is Brexit being swept under the rug? Is it because Johnson and Gove were former journalists themselves and know how to spin events in their favour?

Or is Brexit a dirty word now even though we are all living with consequences?

@Sirzy
Yes my husband woke on a lay-by once to discover all diesel stolen from his lorry and witnessed many curtainsiders slashed and goods stolen.
The amount of signs appearing in industrial and residential areas stating no overnight parking leaves them driving around for excess time looking for somewhere.

More secure parking is needed.

@NantesElephant

Are other European countries who have been dealing with COVID but not Brexit in the way we have experienced similar shortages? Honest question as I don’t know the answer.

Netherlands here. In the first lockdown there was a run on toilet paper, rice, flour etc. Nothing since then, although deliveries of (non-food) items were a day or two slower for a few months.

@Zeal We are used to supply chains of goods and services being a well oiled machine. If one or two parts of the machine start to chafe and grind, the whole machine slows down.

Unfortunately, the modern way is all just in time, so much so that a lot of supermarkets etc., don't actually have much in the way of stock rooms etc. Some are little more than corridors where goods are only held for a few hours between delivery and being put onto the shop floor. That alone leaves little room for a late delivery.

My father was a shop manager back in the 60s/70s. He managed two "High Street" grocery shops (Redmans). I used to go and "help" in the school holidays. Both had huge storage areas, easily 2 or 3 times the shop floor space. The one I remember most had a basement directly under the shop floor and a first floor storeroom above. Both were easily the same size as the shop floor. They were always stuffed full of goods. The basement had a few large walk in fridges and freezers.

Perhaps supermarkets should start having larger storerooms again and a little bit more stock to help give a little bit of flexibility. Yes I know why they moved to "just in time", i.e. to save money by having less stock, but as we are seeing now, it's biting them in the backside when they don't have stock to sell and customers just go and buy elsewhere instead.

If Boris reverses the EU cheap labour market then existing Uk drivers will start migrating to USA where they are being head hunted for better wages.

Nobody is arguing that UK drivers don't deserve better wages, but the question is about the impact of Brexit on the availability of HGV drivers, care workers, the NHS, food production (from the farms to the factories and on to the shops) and on the hospitality trade.

All of these jobs are poorly paid. All are experiencing huge shortages now that the people that did them have packed their bags and gone home. The great rush of Brits rushing to fill the jobs that they claimed the EU citizens had stolen from them has not materialised.

If people want pay and conditions to improve then they have to stop shopping at companies that underpay their staff or operate zero-hours contracts. Stop voting for politicians whose only response to the shortages is to tell people to work harder or work more hours. Coffey thinks that this will solve the problem. Shapps wants overworked truck drivers to work even more hours, so just hope you're not in the path of a 40-ton truck whose driver is knackered. Raab and Patel wrote a book in which they described the British workers as "idlers" and that promised a bonfire of workers rights. Why would anyone vote for these people and expect things to change?

If brexit was to blame, then I'm not sure how that would also impact France, Germany and the rest of europe.

You want it to be because of Brexit, not factors which actually include covid, the fact the eastern european wages have risen etc etc.

Brexit is playing an insignificant part in the issue, it's just that you want it to be so you can no doubt gloat.

Also pound's been dropping for a while. It's just not worth it now compared to some other countries

@Justanotherlurker

If brexit was to blame, then I'm not sure how that would also impact France, Germany and the rest of europe.

You want it to be because of Brexit, not factors which actually include covid, the fact the eastern european wages have risen etc etc.

Brexit is playing an insignificant part in the issue, it's just that you want it to be so you can no doubt gloat.

Sources?

If brexit was to blame, then I'm not sure how that would also impact France, Germany and the rest of europe.

It's not, as a few of us from France, Germany and the rest of Europe have said upthread. This odd ongoing pattern of food-product shortages is a British phenomenon.

Netherlands here. DH works in a supermarket warehouse and I work in IT dealing with logistics for a competing supermarket. Apart from the chaos that was the first lockdown there have been no shortages on the shelves here. No problems predicted around Christmas either.

Family in Netherlands. No shortages there.
It’s brexit related, not because we want it to be so we can gloat but because it’s actually chuffing Brexit!

I believe the shop issues are due to brexit, as well as covid but mainly 75% brexit.

But, I work in a care home in a town with a high population of EU workers. I have to say theres never actually been that many EU workers in our care home - say 15%.

Theres no more or less now than there was.

So for care, sorry, I dont buy it.

If brexit was to blame, then I'm not sure how that would also impact France, Germany and the rest of europe.

family in Belgium and Germany, they have not seen any shortages at all, not once in this whole time

There might be some shortages of some things somewhere in Europe. but 90% of the problem is in the uK

Its the same with the gas issue - the BBC is bigging up all the issues elsewhere in the world, but that doesn't actually obscure the fact that it is mostly a UK problem

If brexit was to blame, then I'm not sure how that would also impact France, Germany and the rest of europe.

The point is that it is NOT affecting the rest of Europe as numerous people who live in eu countries have said on this thread. This is a British phenomenon. We are not experiencing shortages in the EU.

@NantesElephant

Are other European countries who have been dealing with COVID but not Brexit in the way we have experienced similar shortages? Honest question as I don’t know the answer.

Yes they have. But if you were eg Polish you'd probably prefer to work in Germany for more money and less hassle than come to the UK - so there is a Brexit element. But there are lots of other factors too.

@OrangeBlossomsinthesun

If brexit was to blame, then I'm not sure how that would also impact France, Germany and the rest of europe.

The point is that it is NOT affecting the rest of Europe as numerous people who live in eu countries have said on this thread. This is a British phenomenon. We are not experiencing shortages in the EU.

It is affecting some EU states. Maybe not the one you live in.

The British like their goods to be there when they want them, and they want them as cheaply as possible. In other countries goods are not often rock bottom prices but they are consistently supplied.

So when you factor in the often dreadful conditions drivers are expected to tolerate to get us goods cheaply and on time, something's got to give.

I don't seem to hear much from drivers from other EU countries about their dreadful conditions and abysmal pay, but maybe others have.

I know I would not do such a tough job for such pay, and then have to subsidise myself, find parking, etc. Sounds awful and no wonder many cannot be bothered anymore.

So are the conditions the result of Brexit, or is Brexit resulting in the conditions? A bit of both. At the end of the day if shortages continue and delivery times are not consistent, then pay and conditions will have to improve a lot.

When the resulting grocery bill happens, that's when people will really understand the true cost of getting your food and goods to you.

Brexit will be to blame for some of the issues in Europe too because trade is a two way thing.

On the drivers conditions for parking. My MiL lives in France in the back of beyond but along the drive to her house there are plenty of little bar restaurants that also have HGV parking and decent showers etc for drivers. Compared to here just that shows the attitude difference

It is affecting some EU states. Maybe not the one you live in. which eu countries are suffering food shortages because of Brexit?

@OrangeBlossomsinthesun

It is affecting some EU states. Maybe not the one you live in. which eu countries are suffering food shortages because of Brexit?

not food shortages, lorry driver shortages

And now, apparently, to add to lorry driver and (natural) gas shortages we now have Co2 shortages too (in the UK)

The point is that it is NOT affecting the rest of Europe

July/August 2021
French Economy Hit by Supply Problems as Activity Nears Normal.

Proportion of business leaders reporting supply difficulties impacting production - Food 36% (from the table in the link);

www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/french-economy-hit-by-supply-problems-as-activity-nears-normal

September 2021
A global shortage in raw materials is affecting more and more sectors in France, with major retailers, particularly furniture shops, DIY shops and toy shops, complaining that some of their items are out of stock.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea admits that 10% of its products are unavailable...

In France, mirrors, shelves, sofas, chairs, mattresses, kitchens and other small items are missing from the 34 shops around the country. ...

Ikea France would not comment on these shortages, for fear of creating a panic effect that could accentuate the problem.

www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/French-DIY-and-toy-shops-increasingly-affected-by-material-shortages

July 2021
French restaurants are open but short-staffed.

www.economist.com/europe/2021/07/24/french-restaurants-are-open-but-short-staffed

Shipping container shortage inflicts pain on German shoppers.

July 2021
www.dw.com/en/shipping-container-shortage-inflicts-pain-on-german-shoppers/a-58287649

23 April 2021
One of the UK’s leading poultry suppliers has warned of a chicken shortage over the coming months after an outbreak of avian flu in Europe...Poland, the largest supplier of European Poultry into the UK, has had an outbreak of avian flu that resulted in the slaughter of more than 20 million chickens.

inews.co.uk/news/consumer/chicken-shortage-looms-after-avian-flu-outbreak-in-europe-warns-poultry-supplier-970156

All you people commenting that there are no shortages where you live are missing the point. Those countries still are reporting driver shortages- it just hasn’t translated into shelf shortages yet.

There are various articles online from USA Germany Australia Poland France all who are operating at a deficit. The UK also was operating at a deficit of drivers long before Brexit and Covid even when they had Eastern European drivers. it just wasn’t noticed by joe public.
Typical really that people can’t see the problem until it becomes visible. Brexit just made it visible.

I'm surprised you don't blame COVID on Brexit too.

Brexit is done, do keep quiet about it now, the decision is made.

Is blaming brexit doing any good? As has been said, it's done now. Our days of people willing to work for crap pay in horrible conditions is over, we need to now start giving people a fair wage, the horror!