Preparing for the worse

Warnings we made yesterday for schools and local authorities to prepare for food shortages over the winter.

This, I would argue, is not a good thing.

Not the fact there are warnings, that in a first world country, there is to be food shortages due to the labour shortages in agriculture, warhouseing, distribution and retail.

Food is literally rotting in the fields, and distribution hubs have so much product to ship out, they can't accept any new stock in. If there were drivers to deliver it, of course.

The Food and Drink Federation released figures that show sales to the EU was down £2billion down on pre-Brexit/COVID levels. Some is due to COVID, but the whole of the EU and NI are also suffering from COVID and no other country has such food shortages, so it must be something else.

We are lucky, in that hoarding is yet to begin here, there are shortages, but there's other stuff to buy to replace what's not there.

But shortages of chicken, the main poulty processer is reporting 15% vacancies, coupled with driver shortage will mean that supply will be restricted and it seems invetitable that prices will rise. In fact, rises are just beginning to hit, and we shall see how that pans out, with the furlough scheme having ended, or about to end.

And shortage of turkey and ingredients for the traditional Christmas lunch, and price hikes for what is available, might mean that for some, Christmas, if not cancelled, will be worse than usual. And bear in mind, the "save Christmas" that Johnson did against scientific advice last year cost 60,000 lives and three months of hard lockdown, because that's what Christmas means to people, you can imagine another abnornal Christmas won't play well, especially when it could so easily be avoided.

Although a poll yesterday showed the British people were tired of Brexit talk and want it "sorted", means maybe people would accept whatever is done to reduce the crisis. It could be when COVID is over, and Brits have to queue in line with travellers from all over the world rather than use the e-readers, and roaming charges and needing visas for anything other than a holiday, people may question it.

Or not.

As I argued before, political Brexit satisfied the referendum mandate, as it was, and although JOhnson was elected to implement the deal he negotiated promising it was a "great deal", that he is now trying to change the terms by reopening negotiations, any kind of mandate from "the people" or an election is now wearing very thin indeed.

Unless there is a change in policy, and further delays to import checks inposed, in four weeks there will be worse shortages, increase in prices, which would then get even worse in January.

But it can be changed, with political will. But there is no political will: the Government is dogma bound and beholden to its backbenchers in the ERG and for Labour it would reopen old wounds within the party and arguments whether being too Brexity or not Brexity enough was the cause of the landslide defeat, so Starmer, a remainer, doesn't mention it directly, though seems to be starting to look into the future relationship with the EU.