- Britain is facing an erstwhile third-world problem of malnutrition and a shortage of about 1,00,000 drivers to complete their supply chain.
- The British government has announced that it will be distributing 10,500 temporary work visas to lorry drivers and poultry workers.
- Britain should sort itself out before engaging in any diplomatic and political maneuvering against India.
The British political setup time and again keeps exemplifying the attitude-‘once an imperialist, always an imperialist’. But, Britain which somehow finds a way to churn out hate and racism against other countries does not have enough nutrient requirements for their population.
Britain lacks lorry drivers
Britain seems to be running into a severe malnutrition crisis, as they are facing a shortage of food as well as fuel to carry it through the supply chain. According to various reports published in British media, Britain is facing a shortage of about 1,00,000 lorry drivers as of September 2021. Various companies have either shut their petrol pumps or issued a limit on consumers. This problem has been exacerbated by the covid, as before covid, the estimated shortage was more than 60,000. Brexit has further complicated the issue, as after Brexit, there are now higher standards to pass the driving test for Heavy goods vehicles. The new test resulted in 25,000 fewer candidates passing the HGV test in 2020 than in 2019.
Several solutions have been put forward by different experts belonging to the industry as well as political setup.
- Tesco, a grocery company, is offering a joining bonus of £1,000 to the drivers.
- Aldi, another grocery chain, has decided to increase its wages for the drivers.
- Waitrose, a supermarket chain, is offering a £2 per hour increased wage, as well as £1,000 as a joining bonus.
At the political level, talks are being held to add truck drivers to the “shortage occupation list”, which would allow the government to include foreign drivers in the list of drivers. The idea is being aggressively pushed by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps. The opponents of the proposal are pushing for a plan to bring back 6, 00,000 drivers who already have HGV licenses, with offers like better working conditions and increasing drivers’ salaries.
Meanwhile, the British government has announced that it will be distributing 10,500 temporary work visas to lorry drivers and poultry workers.
20th century’s superpower does not have enough to eat in the 21st century
As reported by the TFI, the hastened Brexit and impact of covid-19 has sent Britain into a severe hunger crisis. According to a Guardian report, in 2020 alone, about 30 lakh people were forced to skip their onetime meal, while 15 lakhs people were not getting anything to eat for days.
Britain’s economy is the sixth-largest economy in terms of nominal GDP and constitutes about 3.3 percent of the world economy. It’s a mix of socialist and market economy, as the country spends a large part of its exchequer on welfare payments meant for the poor, disabled, migrants, etc. The country does not have a personal saving culture, and people mainly rely on spending money for their immediate needs. The absence of a saving culture forced almost 7,00,000 individuals into poverty as soon as they lost their main source of income due to covid.
Recently, Britain passed a rule where they stated that Indians with both doses of covishield vaccine will be considered unvaccinated in India. They made it mandatory for Indians traveling there to stay in quarantine for 10 days. The decision is neo-racist in its origin as the majority of Britishers have been inoculated with the same vaccine.
Read more: UK’s new vaccination rule is reminiscent of the Raj Era – “Indians Not allowed”
Britain is hit by problems, such as high immigration, Muslim ghettos, Islamic radicalism, increasing poverty, malnutrition, shortage of essential supplies. Britain needs to sort itself out before engaging in any diplomatic and political maneuvering against India.