BREXIT - Is This Really Still Rumbling On? 😴

TheBigBean

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

elbowloh

TheBigBean said:

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

Haven't been out today, but as i said yesterday, there were big queues at the petrol station on the A24 near Dial Post yesterday afternoon. I don't think its 100% back to normal.
The pig crisis is still going on and the national pig association confirmed that pigs had started to be culled last week at a handful of farms. So no, but the mass culling hasn't yet happened. It's still on the cards however.

https://www.thepigsite.com/news/2021/10/uk-mp-seeks-to-alleviate-pig-crisis

monkimark

I filled up the bike at the weekend so wasn't paying particular attention to the pumps but I saw at least one closed petrol station on my Surrey-West London commute this morning and I think all the other ones I could see as I passed had some type of fuel unavailable.
I guess it stops being a newsworthy story after 2 weeks.

briantrumpet

TheBigBean said:

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

'The news' gets bored very quickly with stuff rumbling on, viz road deaths... c.1,500 a year, but how many get reported?

That said, I've not seen any queues around Exeter, but my local Co-op's shelves are still looking very bare (not of petrol, obvs).

tailwindhome

TheBigBean said:

It does seem that the EU is getting bored of NI stuff. Not sure the exit is as easy to find as the entrance though.

Forking know how they feel.

kingstongraham

TheBigBean said:

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

If that's the way it works, I'm very relieved to hear the channel migrant issue is dealt with.

Fuel took longer than expected and not normal again here. I assumed that once everyone had filled their tanks that there would be lots of drivers and tankers and all the petrol stations would be normal again within a week. The petrol station down the road has 3 out of 8 pumps working now, so I assume will run out again later on but it's definitely getting there. I think the farmers will ensure that piggies will make a return to the headlines this week - and over the next year they'll probably just rear fewer pigs and shrink the pig economy.

rick_chasey

Pig farmers were on 10 o’clock news two nights ago crying that this has ruined their entire year and they don’t see a way out.

pinkbikini

Three petrol stations round us all out of unleaded this afternoon. Definitely not back to normal.

Not really news after 2.5 weeks though. It’s the Great British New Normal - lurching from one unnecessary problem to another.

TheBigBean

kingstongraham said:

TheBigBean said:

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

If that's the way it works, I'm very relieved to hear the channel migrant issue is dealt with.

Fuel took longer than expected and not normal again here. I assumed that once everyone had filled their tanks that there would be lots of drivers and tankers and all the petrol stations would be normal again within a week. The petrol station down the road has 3 out of 8 pumps working now, so I assume will run out again later on but it's definitely getting there. I think the farmers will ensure that piggies will make a return to the headlines this week - and over the next year they'll probably just rear fewer pigs and shrink the pig economy.

I think media fuelled frenzies work that way. Perhaps it's different for the pigs.

pangolin

pinkbikini said:

Three petrol stations round us all out of unleaded this afternoon. Definitely not back to normal.

Not really news after 2.5 weeks though. It’s the Great British New Normal - lurching from one unnecessary problem to another.

I do find it odd that it's going on this long. Does the public have the petrol storage & usage capacity to permanently keep a good chunk of stations out of petrol? I though it would be broadly over once everyone had panic filled once.

pangolin

TheBigBean said:

kingstongraham said:

TheBigBean said:

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

If that's the way it works, I'm very relieved to hear the channel migrant issue is dealt with.

Fuel took longer than expected and not normal again here. I assumed that once everyone had filled their tanks that there would be lots of drivers and tankers and all the petrol stations would be normal again within a week. The petrol station down the road has 3 out of 8 pumps working now, so I assume will run out again later on but it's definitely getting there. I think the farmers will ensure that piggies will make a return to the headlines this week - and over the next year they'll probably just rear fewer pigs and shrink the pig economy.

I think media fuelled frenzies work that way. Perhaps it's different for the pigs.

As above though, would an entirely media fuelled (haha) panic last this long?

TheBigBean

pangolin said:

TheBigBean said:

kingstongraham said:

TheBigBean said:

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

If that's the way it works, I'm very relieved to hear the channel migrant issue is dealt with.

Fuel took longer than expected and not normal again here. I assumed that once everyone had filled their tanks that there would be lots of drivers and tankers and all the petrol stations would be normal again within a week. The petrol station down the road has 3 out of 8 pumps working now, so I assume will run out again later on but it's definitely getting there. I think the farmers will ensure that piggies will make a return to the headlines this week - and over the next year they'll probably just rear fewer pigs and shrink the pig economy.

I think media fuelled frenzies work that way. Perhaps it's different for the pigs.

As above though, would an entirely media fuelled (haha) panic last this long?

It took a while for toilet paper stocks to recover. If a product sells triple* the usual amount for one week, then I would expect it to take more than three weeks to recover assuming people replenish rather than use their stock.

*not sure what the figures were.

rjsterry

TheBigBean said:

pangolin said:

TheBigBean said:

kingstongraham said:

TheBigBean said:

On the basis it is not in the news, I assume everyone now has fuel in their cars and the pigs have avoided the knackerman.

If that's the way it works, I'm very relieved to hear the channel migrant issue is dealt with.

Fuel took longer than expected and not normal again here. I assumed that once everyone had filled their tanks that there would be lots of drivers and tankers and all the petrol stations would be normal again within a week. The petrol station down the road has 3 out of 8 pumps working now, so I assume will run out again later on but it's definitely getting there. I think the farmers will ensure that piggies will make a return to the headlines this week - and over the next year they'll probably just rear fewer pigs and shrink the pig economy.

I think media fuelled frenzies work that way. Perhaps it's different for the pigs.

As above though, would an entirely media fuelled (haha) panic last this long?

It took a while for toilet paper stocks to recover. If a product sells triple* the usual amount for one week, then I would expect it to take more than three weeks to recover assuming people replenish rather than use their stock.

*not sure what the figures were.

I suspect in many petrol stations they sold 200% on one day, and 0% for the next 3 days giving an overall lower rate of sale over the week.

ddraver

This actually proves the point though doesn't it. There is no extra fuel and no extra people to drive it around. The public have just gone back to their normal level of fuel buying.

The issue is not with the supply but the durability, or lack thereof, of the whole system when faced with a (small) shock

briantrumpet

ddraver said:

This actually proves the point though doesn't it. There is no extra fuel and no extra people to drive it around. The public have just gone back to their normal level of fuel buying.

The issue is not with the supply but the durability, or lack thereof, of the whole system when faced with a (small) shock

Let's call it 'just not quite in time delivery'. Maybe Brexit Britain will become a world leader in it.

elbowloh

On another note, the government has decided that yes they are actually responsible for improving facilities and conditions of truck drivers and Grant Shapps has applied for £50million to improve shower/toilet and refreshment facilities at truck stops having seen that our facilities are worse than what is found on the continent.

rick_chasey

elbowloh said:

On another note, the government has decided that yes they are actually responsible for improving facilities and conditions of truck drivers and Grant Shapps has applied for £50million to improve shower/toilet and refreshment facilities at truck stops having seen that our facilities are worse than what is found on the continent.

£50m doesn’t seem that much given how many miles of motorway there are

briantrumpet

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

On another note, the government has decided that yes they are actually responsible for improving facilities and conditions of truck drivers and Grant Shapps has applied for £50million to improve shower/toilet and refreshment facilities at truck stops having seen that our facilities are worse than what is found on the continent.

£50m doesn’t seem that much given how many miles of motorway there are

I expect it'll all go on a couple of decent truck stops near Shapps's constituency.

skyblueamateur

As if to emphasis the point of politicians over here being completely ignorant of the politics of NI, someone paid Nigel Farage to end his birthday message with 'Up the 'Ra'. The mind boggles.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/nigel-farage-i-was-hoaxed-into-up-the-ra-birthday-greeting-40939610.html

pinno

briantrumpet said:

rjsterry said:

rick_chasey said:

You’d have thought with the lack of passenger demand the rail lot would have used the opportunity to fix things.

So far in 2021 I’ve not had a day where I use the train where I have not been significantly delayed

I think a fair few delays these days are down to shortage of train staff, for the usual reasons.

Could we blame Brexit, with no evidence, just to wind up Stevo?

Well, yes.
Case in point: Pig farmer (interviewed on national TV) is going to close after 45 years. Cannot get the staff. Has advertised locally but zero applicants. Quoted "...we used to get eastern Europeans..."

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19560267.scotlands-hospitality-industry-breaking-point-amid-staff-shortages/

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hunt-for-fruit-pickers-extends-6-000-miles-as-shortage-bites-xtthzl3mp

Now Spaffer and Sunak cannot agree on fiscal policy.
Recent report states biggest failing in history in healthcare regarding the C19 pandemic.
But they will always get Stevo's vote even though, they are just a bucnh of fcukin wnakers.

I hear him say "...but I didn't vote for Brexit..." but he did vote for the party that pushed for Brexit, so he may as well have.

kingstongraham

pinno said:

briantrumpet said:

rjsterry said:

rick_chasey said:

You’d have thought with the lack of passenger demand the rail lot would have used the opportunity to fix things.

So far in 2021 I’ve not had a day where I use the train where I have not been significantly delayed

I think a fair few delays these days are down to shortage of train staff, for the usual reasons.

Could we blame Brexit, with no evidence, just to wind up Stevo?

Well, yes.
Case in point: Pig farmer (interviewed on national TV) is going to close after 45 years. Cannot get the staff. Has advertised locally but zero applicants. Quoted "...we used to get eastern Europeans..."

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19560267.scotlands-hospitality-industry-breaking-point-amid-staff-shortages/

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hunt-for-fruit-pickers-extends-6-000-miles-as-shortage-bites-xtthzl3mp

Now Spaffer and Sunak cannot agree on fiscal policy.
Recent report states biggest failing in history in healthcare regarding the C19 pandemic.
But they will always get Stevo's vote even though, they are just a bucnh of fcukin wnakers.

I hear him say "...but I didn't vote for Brexit..." but he did vote for the party that pushed for Brexit, so he may as well have.

Or more pertinently after a 5 second google:

https://www.railjournal.com/employment/british-rail-industry-facing-skills-shortage-study/

With 28% of workers in the industry aged over 50, around 15,000 workers could be due to retire by 2025. Brexit is set to exacerbate this issue, by potentially reducing access to overseas workers. The proportion of workers in the rail sector from the European Union dropped from 17% to 15% between 2016 and 2018, with this trend expected to continue.

pblakeney

"With 28% of workers in the industry aged over 50..."

Hardly surprising. A simplified break down by age.
18-30, 30-42, 42-54, 54-66. Roughly into quarters.

rick_chasey

pblakeney said:

"With 28% of workers in the industry aged over 50..."

Hardly surprising. A simplified break down by age.
18-30, 30-42, 42-54, 54-66. Roughly into quarters.

Lower than average.

https://ageing-better.org.uk/work-state-ageing-2020

Over a third of the workforce is over 50....eek

Dorset_Boy

kingstongraham said:

pinno said:

briantrumpet said:

rjsterry said:

rick_chasey said:

You’d have thought with the lack of passenger demand the rail lot would have used the opportunity to fix things.

So far in 2021 I’ve not had a day where I use the train where I have not been significantly delayed

I think a fair few delays these days are down to shortage of train staff, for the usual reasons.

Could we blame Brexit, with no evidence, just to wind up Stevo?

Well, yes.
Case in point: Pig farmer (interviewed on national TV) is going to close after 45 years. Cannot get the staff. Has advertised locally but zero applicants. Quoted "...we used to get eastern Europeans..."

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19560267.scotlands-hospitality-industry-breaking-point-amid-staff-shortages/

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hunt-for-fruit-pickers-extends-6-000-miles-as-shortage-bites-xtthzl3mp

Now Spaffer and Sunak cannot agree on fiscal policy.
Recent report states biggest failing in history in healthcare regarding the C19 pandemic.
But they will always get Stevo's vote even though, they are just a bucnh of fcukin wnakers.

I hear him say "...but I didn't vote for Brexit..." but he did vote for the party that pushed for Brexit, so he may as well have.

Or more pertinently after a 5 second google:

https://www.railjournal.com/employment/british-rail-industry-facing-skills-shortage-study/

With 28% of workers in the industry aged over 50, around 15,000 workers could be due to retire by 2025. Brexit is set to exacerbate this issue, by potentially reducing access to overseas workers. The proportion of workers in the rail sector from the European Union dropped from 17% to 15% between 2016 and 2018, with this trend expected to continue.

Would many industries not have about 28% of their work force aged over 50?
If you break the workforce down into 15 year age brackets of 20-34, 35-49 and 50+ then 28% might even be on the low side.

BBC are suggesting there are over 1 million job vacancies in the UK at present, and there are 1.51 million unemployed.
No doubt there are skills gaps, in both directions (ie both over qualified and under qualified). It would suggest that many Brits are very picky in the work they are willing to do, and many of the less desirable jobs were being done by people from mainland europe.

Jezyboy

Or the jobs/people are in the wrong place?

rick_chasey

Jezyboy said:

Or the jobs/people are in the wrong place?

Yes. Funnily enough I am not going to be a lorry driver or abattoir worker any time soon. Does this mean I am lazy?

Dorset_Boy

rick_chasey said:

Jezyboy said:

Or the jobs/people are in the wrong place?

Yes. Funnily enough I am not going to be a lorry driver or abattoir worker any time soon. Does this mean I am lazy?

You're in employment in a well paid position so of course you aren't going to become a lorry driver or abattoir worker.
Being picky isn't the same as being lazy either.

And as Jezyboy says, there will no doubt be an element of the jobs / people being in different locations.

surrey_commuter

Dorset_Boy said:

rick_chasey said:

Jezyboy said:

Or the jobs/people are in the wrong place?

Yes. Funnily enough I am not going to be a lorry driver or abattoir worker any time soon. Does this mean I am lazy?

You're in employment in a well paid position so of course you aren't going to become a lorry driver or abattoir worker.
Being picky isn't the same as being lazy either.

And as Jezyboy says, there will no doubt be an element of the jobs / people being in different locations.

There is something known as the "natural rate of unemployment" which includes people between jobs or unable to work for whatever reason. You can take your pick whatthis number is but historically in developed countries it has rarely remained below 4% for extended periods.

Of course unemployed stats only pick up people registered as unemployed so a better number to look at can be the number of people employed. As we were close to full employment the success of Boris's plan depends upon those not employed becoming economically active in large numbers.
32 million people employed in UK
41 million people of working age

of those 9 million people some will be early retirees, housewives, disabled (maybe up to half), carers, in prison etc

Getting circa 2 million of these into the workforce will not be easy

Pross

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

On another note, the government has decided that yes they are actually responsible for improving facilities and conditions of truck drivers and Grant Shapps has applied for £50million to improve shower/toilet and refreshment facilities at truck stops having seen that our facilities are worse than what is found on the continent.

£50m doesn’t seem that much given how many miles of motorway there are

By chance we do a bit of work for a guy with his own haulage company. He's cash rich and recently started just buying up land that come on the market near strategic routes to try to get planning for truck stops. He usually gives us a call (and probably a few other consultants) a call to say he's buying the land unless there's anything we can see that will prevent him getting consent and if not just goes ahead at risk.

We then help in get planning consent and he probably has about 60-70% success rate. I suspect each one costs a couple of million by time he's bought the land, paid all his fees, sorted out access and built the thing out but as a haulier he knows there is a huge shortage and as a businessman presumably knows he will make money from them.

The motorway network isn't too badly served, it's the A roads that struggle. I sometimes have long non-motorway drives and finding somewhere to stop for a toilet break is a pain. We used to have laybys with toilets all over the place but they've been closed over the years as they became a maintenance headache for Councils and a magnet for vandalism, drug use and cottaging. Laybys also left drivers at risk of hijacking / theft of loads.

£50 million is going nowhere, the Government would be better coming up with measures to help people like our client locate and develop suitable sites and leave it to the private sector.

tailwindhome

Oops.Wrong government is shit thread