UK expected to make U-turn on foreign worker visas
As queues started forming outside filling stations early on Saturday, Prime Minister EG Group, which runs hundreds of forecourts across Britain, said on Friday it would impose a purchase limit of £30 ($41) per customer for fuel due to the “unprecedented customer demand.””We have ample fuel stocks in this country and the public should be reassured there are no shortages,” the Downing Street spokeswoman said.”But like countries around the world we are suffering from a temporary Covid-related shortage of drivers needed to move supplies around the country.”The fuel issue comes as Britain, the world’s fifth-largest economy, also grapples with a spike in European natural gas prices causing soaring energy prices and a potential food supply crunch.Other countries such as the United States and Germany are also dealing with truck driver shortages.Britain says the long-term solution is for more British drivers to be hired, with the RHA saying better pay and conditions are needed to attract people into the industry.But the retail industry has warned that unless the government acts to address the shortage in the next 10 days, then significant disruption is inevitable in the run-up to Christmas.
