The elf on an empty shelf..
Gove’s mission to save Chrimbo
HO HO OH NO! Michael Gove is being sent down the chimney... to save the nation’s Christmas.
The Tory turkey has been plucked by PM Boris Johnson to head a committee to ensure we have enough food and presents for all.
His brief could stretch to ensuring supplies of sherry – just weeks after he was pictured looking merry in a nightclub.
One insider even likened Mr Gove to Will Ferrell’s character in hit Christmas film Elf.
Pictures of empty shop shelves are emerging all over the country as the supply chain crisis continues. And we face a festive flop for a second year, after the PM pulled the plug on 2020 get-togethers at the last minute.
Despite having just been appointed as Minister for Housing, Mr Gove has been told heading the National Economic Recovery Taskforce (Logistics) is “priority No1”.
A Whitehall source said: “You can call it whatever you like but it’s basically the Committee to Save Christmas. It’s a race against time.” Another source warned that the festive season is “on a knife-edge” and the PM fears favourite kids’ toys and food like pigs in blankets will be in short supply.
Traditional veg and must-have toys won’t be
available
Threat
The source said: “There’s an existential threat now. We’ve heard prices are going to go up and there are products that won’t be there unless we get a grip. Traditional veg and must-have toys are not going to be available. Who’d have thought Johnson would send Gove to save Christmas – like Will Ferrell in Elf.”
Frédérique Tutt, a toy expert at business analyst NPD, warns that retailers and brands expect “shortages to hit well before Christmas”.
On the table, Uk-grown classics like sprouts are at risk as there is no one to pick them due to Brexit laws.
The cost of imported pork could hit plates too. The British Meat Processors Association predicts the usual 40 million packs of pigs in blankets will fall by a third. And the British Poultry Council warns staff shortages are hitting output.
The 90,000 shortfall of HGV drivers is another issue. Logistics UK says of 14,000 EU drivers who left last year just 600 have returned.
M&S chief Archie Norman said this week supermarkets face a “perfect storm”. And Iceland boss Richard Walker said it was time to “sound the alarm” on drivers, adding: “We’ve had one Christmas cancelled, I’d hate this one to be problematic.”
keir.mudie@people.co.uk