To think we are being lined up for something?

[BeverForget]

I work in food supply chain.
Four of the 'big' grocery retailers have just asked to renegotiate at least four weeks min supply, as opposed to two.
This happened in Feb 2020 as well.
Lots of rhetoric about being on a war footing, from politicos.
And then Sunak essentially jumping ship yesterday, as though he knows there is a crisis on the horizon that he wants no part of.
There is no way that the Tories have a prayer in a July election.
So what do they know that they aren't telling us?

Well I wouldn't worry about it, something is alway around the corner.

You acknowledge how useless and incompetent our politicians are - and then you credit them with some marvellous foresight and ability to make wise plans. They don't know anything.

Being on a war footing is probably reasonable with Putin making another push in to Ukraine. Another pandemic isn't too far fetched, though very hard to predict. Resilience has probably been overlooked in the past so we should be paying more heed to it. We seem to have had lots of big IT failures over past weeks - that's another area where we need to make better plans for unexpected failure.

Oh no !!!!!

Everyone rush out and buy bog rolls quick.

It’s not the costs being such a new thing but the actual checks that they’ve pushed back for years to actually start, presumably in the hope people wont associate it with the massive mess up that is brexit and the Tories.

Imagine a country actually voting to implement costs, delays and harder work and more paperwork for itself.

I agree, something feels odd, felt it all week.

What exactly does being on a war footing mean these days though?

It's random stocking up that messes up the supply chain 🤨

It's the issues with the ports since Brexit. Now we are actually checking what is coming in we will have delays and disruption and added costs we have avoided up to now, but they can't procrastinate any more.

Also Rishi has been denying access to the UN food inspector https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/food-poverty-sunak-un-children-b2542136.html

What kind of announcement, where ?

Yes I heard the advice to keep plenty of food etc in the house randomly on the radio the other day too

@marie3e
They've made a website 'Prepare'

prepare.campaign.gov.uk/get-prepared-for-emergencies/

I only found out about it from someone's Twitter.

If there's some kind of background Intel behind all of this, I really wish they'd piss or get off the pot.

3 days food and water is sensible though, plenty of small infrastructure issues could happen and it would get you over the worst of it before emergency response gets set up.

I think it's far more likely the adaptations are to improve resilience Vs hold up at Dover / France over the summer again.

Personally I think it's probably pure selfishness on Rishi's part. He has a job offer somewhere else. Or he doesn't want the embarrassment of a vote of no confidence. Or he doesn't want to keep working at what is clearly going to be a failed project (winning the next election) and he's giving up.

I do think it's possible there's something on the horizon that the Tories would rather not have to deal with - but it seems that Rishi's move to call the election has been unpopular within the wider party. That's what makes me think it's probably self interest. Current Tories crop are such a bunch of weasels they're not even loyal to party let alone country.

I'd like to think Prepare etc is a response to the increasing risks posed by climate change (as well as conflict). We may have droughts / floods / storms / failed crops etc this year and that's going to increase year on year. We are more vulnerable to these effects outside of the EU. I think it's likely any of the majority political parties in power would be working on preparedness / resilience, even the useless Tories.

General elections always create disruption

Supermarkets are just trying to be prepared

I mean, it's all a bit vague - keep calm, carry on but be prepared just in case. The pandemic should have taught them plenty about how to communicate with the public and avoid headless chicken responses. Oh wait. Doh.

I've always found it a bit weird that we don't do this, it's entirely normal in Scandinavia etc to follow emergency information and have an emergency bag/food etc. I once worked with communities looking at emergency plans in case of a disaster (flooding, wildfire, pandemic etc) a lot of communities were very wary of asking households to hold a stock of non perishable food, wind up radio and torch in case it started people panicking. We've lost touch with looking after ourselves and being self reliant.

It's not "weird", just what many other countries around the world have been suggested to do for years. The UK just seems to be lagging behind everywhere else.

Brexit nonsense has already been, largely, costed for.

It’s got nothing to do with “costing”. If you’re working in food supply chain and not aware of the Brexit related legislative changes for imports coming into effect throughout this year, then I think you just started a new job yesterday!

Scaremongering nonsense!

I has felt like there’s something a foot this week but there have been other recent times that have felt the same and not come to anything.
Inflation is lower now and a bit of stash is useful. Can always use it up over winter when energy bills are high so I’ll probably stock up on a few things. Only tinned food that we actually eat though. Toothpaste,loo roll, basic meds I’ll make sure I’ve a reasonable stash.
It will probably come to nothing though.

There was a time I might have agreed with you. Before 2020 that is.

Yes this. It was reported in The Times this week too - recommending that everyone should hold 4 days supply to improve the country's resilience, using an example of a sulphur cloud from an Icelandic volcano meaning everybody would have to stay indoors for 4 days

But we have been here before, with the same idiots.

Yep, if you’re talking about this thread

rolls eyes

But 2020 was scaremongering nonsense!