Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted that Britain’s nationwide petrol shortage could last until Christmas.
With a lack of truck drivers across Britain, misinformation has led to panic-buying, depleting petrol and diesel stock across the UK. In the past week, there have been a number of reported fights, disputes and petrol station carnage in the name of fuel, despite no lack of supply at refineries.
According to the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), stations in Britain have continued to take in fuel deliveries as standard, with only 27% of the PRA’s outlets currently reporting that they’re out of petrol.
“We are now starting to see the situation improve,” said Boris Johnson in a recent press conference. “We’re hearing from the industry that supplies are coming back onto the forecourts. What we want to do is make sure that we have all the preparations necessary to get through until Christmas and beyond—not just in the supply of the petrol stations, but all parts of our supply chain.”
The government is preparing to deploy 150 qualified military drivers to deliver fuel and a further 150 personnel as backup support to aid the situation. The government’s plan of action also entails relaxed competition laws for oil firms, speeding up the process of acquiring an HGV licence and 5,000 temporary visas for foreign fuel tankers in the run-up to the holiday season.
“This problem was predictable and predicted, and the government has absolutely failed to plan,” said Labour party leader Keir Starmer. Meanwhile, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng believes the nation should expect to see easing over fuel shortages over the next 24 hours.
Let’s hope the whole thing gets resolved soon.
