Panic has created a crisis from nothing

PROPAGANDA and panic are a lethal combination and can create a crisis out of nothing.

Take the latest one: tell people there are a couple of petrol stations closed because of a shortage of drivers and tell the media – then sit back and wait while people panic, which then leads to a genuine shortage.

This country has for too long used cheap labour from abroad, which has driven down wages in all sectors – and I believe this crisis has been manufactured by big business to get cheap foreign labour back into the country.

There’s been a fundamental shift in people’s outlook. We have over a million job vacancies in retail, hospitality, etc.

Since the pandemic hit, my wife and son who are in retail, have seen people leaving because they no longer want to be working until 10pm, stacking shelves; they’re looking for 9 to 5 jobs.

There’s going to have to be a complete rethink about work since people have started working from home and having their groceries delivered to their door.

For now, it’s going to take time to train people up in this country, which will be a good thing.

And while we are at it, take back some of the industries which held us to ransom: from PPE, ventilators, and the latest one – paying a American company to restart making CO2 production at two plants.

And on the horizon is energy. Do we go with nuclear and fracking? Wind and the sun aren’t going to cut it.

Alan Byrne, Ripley