IT’S PANIC STATIONS
Fear of fuel shortages sparked by lack of truckers sees motorists form massive queues at pumps
DRIVERS yesterday formed huge queues at petrol stations amid fears of a fuel shortage.
Motorists rushed to top up their tanks over concerns supplies would run out due to a lack of HGV drivers. The panic buying came despite the UK Government urging people to fill up “as normal” and giving assurances that supplies would not run out. The Scottish Government also said there was no concern over fuel levels north of the Border. It came as a small number of BP and Esso-owned Tesco Alliance stations closed on Thursday. A lack of tanker drivers caused them to turn off their pumps. Cars were yesterday seen queueing outside petrol stations in Braehead, near
Glagsow, Livingston and Aberdeen. Fuel price campaigners and politicians yesterday blamed the UK Government for the situation.
It’s feared that Brexit red-tape stopping EU drivers from entering the UK will lead to a fuel shortage and soaring prices.
Politicians said rural areas must get their “fair share” if stocks start to run low. Howard Cox, of the Fair Fuel UK campaign group, warned that prices were likely to rise at pumps across the country.
He said: “Today’s fuel shortage crisis is totally down to the Government’s tardy approach to the chronic HGV driver deficiency, impacting, as we predicted, on forecourt deliveries even before the current predicament.
“Pump prices will rise in direct relation to the ‘don’t panic’ scaremongering messages from this clueless Government.
“FairFuelUK sees pump prices rising 3p plus per litre over the next few weeks, maybe even more. The Tories are no longer the driver’s friend.”
He added: “Rural garages and drivers will be hardest hit, together with those needing to visit medical facilities on a routine basis.
“Everyone knows what we pay at the pumps does not follow any logic or fairness when oil prices change.
“The smaller independent garages are subject to their blackmail too, in the prices they are forced to pay, with their wholesalers holding them hostage to their bulk supply.”
Fuel must be “prioritised across the board” and not held up south of the Border, MPs have urged.
Concerns are growing over the country’s fuel supplies not reaching forecourts in the north.
It’s feared the shortage of lorry drivers could be as high as 10,000.
While Scotland’s major refinery is located at Grangemouth, there are similar installations in England to ensure fuel makes it to Scots stations.
Oil giant BP has said it’ll prioritise delivering petrol to UK stations with those with the most demand going to the front of the queue.
The firm admitted it was having “supply issues” but Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has urged drivers to “carry on as normal” and not panic buy.
Last night, Scots politicians urged the Government to ensure the region got a fair share when supplies started flowing again. North-east Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden, the former council leader of oil and gas capital Aberdeen, said: “In some areas in the north-east there is no alternative to a car. There are no proper bus or train services.
“If there are fuel shortages, I would like to see the north-east being prioritised to making sure there are still petrol in our pumps. Fuel prices
Pump prices will rise in direct relation to Tory scaremongering HOWARD COX FAIR FUEL CAMPAIGN GROUP
in these remote communities are often higher than in other places in Scotland, so it is only right that supplies are guaranteed to those who need it most.”
He added: “The value of the UK is that we have more supplies from across the country and not just from Grangemouth. I would like to make sure that fuel is prioritised through the UK and not held up in any particular areas.”
SNP Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart, Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, accused the UK Government of “smoke and mirrors” tactics by blaming the lack of lorry drivers on the coronavirus crisis and not Brexit.
He said: “I know the UK Government tries to say this is Covid related but it is most definitely not, because these problems are not happening on the continent.
“The chickens are coming home to roost and it is people across Scotland and the UK that are suffering. They need to reverse these policies and, in particular, to allow for that free movement of labour again.
“It is absolutely essential that fuel supplies reach those people in rural areas and for those folks who have essential jobs that require them to drive.
“It is essential that the UK Government sorts this out now. We have a perfect storm going on with food shortages, fuel shortages, energy price rises and a cut in Universal Credit.”
A spokesman for the United Road Transport Union, which represents lorry drivers in Britain, said the chaos had long been in the making and had been spurred on by the coronavirus crisis.
He said: “We would like a guarantee of a fair distribution of fuel across the country.
“Our union has been warning for years that there will come a point when there will not be enough professional drivers to ensure that supplies are delivered, businesses can continue operating and our supermarkets are fully stocked. All the pandemic has done is make this happen sooner.
“There is no quick fix to the driver shortage. Poor pay and working conditions, over many years, have led to an ageing workforce with retiring drivers substantially outnumbering new drivers.
“Brexit has also led to a dramatic decrease in the amount of professional drivers. Rather than relaxing enforcement of the drivers’ hours rules, the Government should be concentrating on improving the pay and working conditions of already hard working professional drivers.”
On the BBC’s Today show, Shapps claimed the crisis was not to do with Brexit, adding: “Not only are there large shortages in EU countries like Poland and Germany, but because of Brexit I’ve been able to change the law and alter the way our driving tests operate in a way I could not have done if we were still part of the EU.”