Britain, it looks like, is facing a fuel crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office has said army drivers would be ready to help deliver petrol on a short-term basis.
No 10 said army drivers would be ready to help deliver petrol and diesel on a short-term basis, but stopped short of immediate deployment, even though some essential workers have not been able to carry out their jobs without fuel. As of Monday, two-thirds of the Petrol Retailers Association’s nearly 5,500 independent retail outlets ran out of fuel.
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Queues at fuel stations are stretching for miles, despite a government warning that attempts to top up fuel is making the situation worse.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, told the Guardian it was right for the government to take “sensible, precautionary steps”. “If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localised demand for fuel”.
The government also granted an automatic extension to licences for fuel tankers, renewing them without refresher training. The current fuel crisis isn’t a fuel shortage, but a result of a labour shortage. In the last few months, there’s been a shortage of over 100,000 qualified heavy goods vehicle drivers, which has affected supply chains and caused ripple effects in grocery stores, restaurants, and recently, gas stations.
The companies, including BP, Shell and Esso, said there was “plenty of fuel at UK refineries and terminals, and as an industry, we are working closely with the government to help ensure fuel is available to be delivered to stations across the country”. COVID-19 and Brexit are being blamed for the situation. Tighter immigration laws and tax changes have made it more difficult and time-consuming for EU nationals to move in and out for work, not just truck drivers. Several fuel stations have had to close as they haven’t been able to keep up with the demand.
The opposing Labour party is accusing PM Johnson of allowing the situation to “spiral out of control, despite months of warnings from industry”. “The government must now bring together businesses and trade unions to develop a proper plan, both for the immediate crisis, as well as to tackle the long-term issues that have led us here”.
No 10 said that a military aid to civil authority request was sent to the Ministry of Defence to ensure that about 100 troops would be ready for action.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for priority petrol stations for key workers.
