Join The Doggy Bag Revolution!

Some of Britain’s best-known restaurants have thrown their weight behind a news outlet on Sunday’s mission to make taking home leftovers a normal part of dining out.

Pizza Express, Wagamama, Frankie & Benny’s, Franco Manca, Chiquito, The Real Greek, Coppa Club, Tavolino and the D&D London group of restaurants, which include Quaglino’s, where the Queen has eaten, have all promised to do more to promote take home doggy bags to their customers, either by training staff or updating their menus.

It’s a major boost for their War On Food Waste campaign, which is calling on households, retailers and eateries to tackle this hidden environmental disaster.

Food waste accounts for a fifth of Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions. Yet every year hospitality firms bin the equivalent of 1.3 billion meals, according to the charity Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

About a third of this wasted food, the equivalent of 430 million meals, is scraped from plates into the bin when diners don’t finish their orders.

An MoS investigation covering more than 20 major dining chains, which account for thousands of restaurants and pubs, discovered venues are routinely failing to encourage customers to taken uneaten food home.

Although almost all restaurants do provide doggy bags if required, hardly any tells staff to make customers aware of this option at the end of their meals, and none of the chains includes a note on their menus to tell patrons that they can ask for a take-home box.

In the worst instance of poor practice, Whetherspoon pubs refuse to offer take-home doggy bags at all. Mitchells & Butlers, which operate Harvester, Toby Carvery, Miller & Carter and Browns at more than 1,700 venues across the United Kingdom, let individual managers determine whether to provide doggy bags.

A Wetherspoon spokesperson maintained there wasn’t a demand from customers for a take-home option. Yet a study for a news outlet discovered that an amazing 81 per cent of the public want all establishments to offer doggy bags as standard practice.

Crucially, the study of 1,608 people by Deltapoll also revealed that although we like the idea, about half of us have never asked to take home uneaten food from a restaurant. Experts said this is due to the British instinct to avoid causing a fuss.

Yet in the US, doggy bags have been commonplace for decades.

The practice started during the Second World War when pet owners were encouraged to feed their pets with table scraps due to food deficits.

Now doggy bags are usually printed on menus or handed out by waiting staff as part of a normal service.

However, if you don’t want to waste food, how about not ordering more than you can eat in the first place? However, if you order pizza, it’s almost inevitable that you won’t eat it all – leftover pizza is simple to reheat or good cold.

But some people like to order more so that they can take it home so they have something for breakfast or lunch the following day, and some people are just a little more concerned about their well-being and weight because we eat to survive, not the other way round.

And of course, it should be normal to take home what you paid for, and restaurants, cooks and waiting staff aren’t the standard-bearers of societal norms.

It isn’t the norm in the United Kingdom, but it should be, although I guess some people might think that they will be looked at as cheap trash, even if they were to take a doggy bag home from a party, and people would probably die of shock if they saw people asking to take home a half-eaten steak or lobster.

Joe Biden’s New Domestic Terror Strategy

A professor of political science has declared that President Joe Biden’s new strategy to counter domestic terrorism could be used to silence administration critics.

Nicholas Giordano, a professor at Suffolk Community College on Long Island, raised his concerns about the new National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in an interview with Fox News on Friday.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland unveiled the new 32-page strategy document, which came in response to an order issued by Joe Biden on his first full day in office, calling domestic terrorism the most urgent terrorism threat the United States faces today.

In a statement attached to the document, Joe Biden declared that the new strategy was narrowly tailored to focus specifically on addressing violence while preserving free speech, but Giordano raised his concerns about the wording of the strategy, describing it overly broad and dangerous and ripe for exploitation and targeting any political opposition.

Giordano told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that this was one of the most troubling documents he had ever read, authored by government officials.

Giordano noted that the document lists racism and anti-government extremism as the fundamental factors driving domestic terrorism, but claimed that the document poorly describes the terms.

He said that they never truly define racism except for white supremacy, of course, and the superiority of the white race and that these were the very people that believe racism is inherent, and that you’re born with it.

And Giordano argued, referring to the belief amongst some on the left that all white people were racist, and that if racism was inherent, then are we born domestic terrorists?

The strategy document calls for prioritising efforts to ensure that every element of the government has a part to play in rooting out racism and advancing equality for underserved communities.

Giordano raised a second concern that the label anti-government extremism could be applied to anyone who disagrees with government policy.

He said that if you call for a small, limited government and you criticise the government in any way, you’re going to be regarded as someone with anti-government views.

He said that if you look at the coronavirus and question the mandates that came out as unconstitutional, well then, you’re labelled as anti-authority, and he argued that we have these big terms that are being used and it really could encompass anything.

But anti-government sentiments, well that does have an impressive ring to it, and resistance is futile – you will be assimilated into the collective, and life as it was is now over, and they will protect free speech and target extremism, and by extremism, they mean anything that we say that they don’t like.

And it seems like there’s zero hope for the US because half of the US is completely out of touch with reality, and the great reset, and ultimately federal force will take over, and they want complete control and compliance of the people – much like slave owners, and America is sleepwalking into a one-party dictatorship, and even a first grader can see what’s going on here.

Joe Biden is a walking corpse, and no one really appears to know exactly who’s in charge, and he certainly doesn’t seem to have a backbone, and not many people give a damn about what he says or believes, and either free speech is for everyone or it isn’t free speech.

A Couple Who left Dogs In A Boiling Vehicle

A couple who were observed on camera supposedly leaving their dogs in a scorching vehicle after being caught on camera stealing from a cafe’s tip jar has now been accused of eating £80 meals at a Harvester and walking out without paying.

The police have questioned the couple at a police station in Sussex after police traced their movements in Brighton on Saturday.

The pair were captured on CCTV seeming to take the staff tips after demanding a refund for their meals at Carat’s Cafe.

Later the same day they’re alleged to have eaten a big £80 meal for four people at the Harvester on the seafront but then wandered out without paying.

At about 4 pm the family wandered into the Madeira Drive restaurant and ordered racks of slow-cooked ribs for four people, costing £20.49 for an adult portion, which is the most costly thing on the menu.

The couple and two boys aged about nine and seven then spent an hour eating the ribs and drinking in the establishment, but when it came to paying the bill they supposedly became rude towards staff and marched out without paying.

A staff member, who wouldn’t be named, said that the same family came into their restaurant and spent an hour dining where they were horrible to staff.

The staff member said they ordered large ribs and had four meals but they were quite rude to staff, very horrible and then they got up and left without paying, and that the incident had been reported to the police and CCTV had been handed over.

The couple were then filmed for a second time as they returned to their vehicle in Brighton after police had been forced to break a window because of concerns for two dogs locked inside in the scorching heat.

Police confirmed the couple had been questioned by detectives investigating the thefts. However, they have been released pending further enquiries.

A spokesperson said that a man and a woman had been questioned by police and remained under investigation whilst enquiries continued.

Superintendent Rachel Swinney said that they were aware of the significant interest in the case, and they’d like to thank the public for coming forward with information and that they were actively pursuing all lines of enquiry, and that they would endeavour to identify if any additional crimes had been committed as their investigation proceeds.

Superintendent Rachel Swinney of Sussex Police said that the behaviour of the individuals concerned in both of the incidents would not be tolerated, and she wanted to convey a clear message to those visiting their county that they will actively pursue those who perpetrate crime in Sussex.

A spokesperson for the force Sussex Police said that police investigating the theft of money from Carats Cafe in Southwick had formally identified two people in footage from the cafe, and that the investigation was progressing with the assistance of colleagues at Bedfordshire Police, and that the same two individuals were also involved in an incident in Madeira Drive, Brighton, whereby police responded to a welfare call in respect of two dogs locked in a car – the dogs were subsequently released from the car by police.

But what a disgusting couple and what a terrible example to set for their children, but they’ll probably just get a slap on the wrist from the judge, but then again, this is probably typical behaviour for them and their children, but at least their faces will be known now, and they will be humiliated everywhere they go and probably not admitted into restaurants and watched and followed into shops, and ultimately, they’ll have to pay for everything they want.

This pair is no more than brazen and have no shame, no regret, no compassion, no remorse, no respect and no regard for others, and if they’re named and shamed on social media, which they probably will be, it will be taken as a badge of honour and will make them a little bit famous, which is probably what they strive for.

And what a waste of oxygen these two are, they’re despicable, and they should be taught some manners, but you just can’t teach stupid!

COVID Was Only The 24th Leading Cause Of Mortality In England

Official figures show that twenty-three diseases and conditions killed more people than COVID in England last month and the virus was responsible for fewer than 1 per cent of all deaths.

The Office for National Statistics discovered that COVID mortality continued to decline significantly during the month, even though cases were starting to climb because of the rapid spread of the Indian variant.

Coronavirus claimed 355 lives in May, which was down about 65 per cent on the toll in April, in another sign that the vaccines are giving tremendous protection even against the mutant strain.

The continued drop in COVID deaths suggests the virus is now the 24th leading cause of mortality, down from ninth last month, and it’s been the country’s greatest killer for four continuous months from November through to February.

In total there were 35,401 losses from all causes recorded in England last month, which was 10 per cent lower than normal and the second month in a row they have been below average.

COVID was the leading cause in just 0.9 per cent of the deaths, accounting for approximately one in 110.

Heart disease was the biggest killer in May (3,780) followed by dementia (3,711), while flu and pneumonia are now killing three times as many patients (1,012) as COVID.

The low COVID death numbers and other encouraging statistics have given the Government’s wary scientific advisers confidence that England’s new terminus date on July 19 will go ahead.

Imperial College London’s Neil Ferguson, named Professor Lockdown for his dark foresight which led to the initial lockdown last spring and prompted the most recent delay, said that he believes deaths would remain at controllable levels when the country unlocks next month.

Downing Street is said to be so impressed by the protection the vaccines are giving that lockdown could end two weeks early if COVID data proceeds to improve.

No 10 has opened the gateway to ending restrictions on July 5, amid mounting evidence that assumptions used by government scientists to justify delaying Freedom Day were too negative.

Other leading killers last month were lung disease, strokes and prostate cancer, and the ONS said it doesn’t publish a full table listing the causes of mortality because it says the information is only preparatory and subject to revision as more deaths are recorded.

Despite COVID deaths dropping in recent months, the virus has still been England’s biggest destroyer of 2021 so far, claiming 48,387 lives and accounting for a fifth of all deaths.

It seems as if the vaccination is working, but what does bedwetting bottler Boris Johnson do? Did he open up the country to preserve our economy, of course not? Because he wants to see more businesses and livelihoods go to the wall, and he’s becoming an international embarrassment.

So why hasn’t the country had all freedoms restored, probably because it’s all about power and totalitarianism.

They were raving on that heart disease was the most prominent thing in May, just a few months after the jab, and now what’s happened to the reports on the side effects of the jab? You guessed it, an enlarged heart, blood clots, and a spike in protein’s in the spleen and brain.

But is this all to do with the great reset that the people with tin foil hats, conspiracy theorists have all said about and which have all come true in the past, and this isn’t about protecting lives and our well-being, it’s about demoting us to a lower tier in the new green world, where vast numbers of people just don’t matter, and all men might have been born equal, but are no longer equal.

Joe Biden Is Not Physically Or Cognitively Fit To Be Our Leader

Texas Republican Representative Ronny Jackson, who served as Donald Trump’s White House physician, called on Joe Biden to take a cognitive test to show that he was capable of leading the country.

Ronny Jackson told Fox News host Sean Hannity that they can’t sit on this any longer, and he said that Joe Biden’s performance with world leaders was embarrassing.

Ronny Jackson told Sean Hannity that Joe Biden was not physically or cognitively fit to be their president right now.

Ronny Jackson said he’d been saying this for years, and he said that he knew that the rigours of the job were, physically and cognitively, and they were demanding, and he said that Joe Biden wasn’t inspiring confidence and that it was conveying the wrong message to their adversaries.

Ronny Jackson continued that they need to know that they can trust their president, and they need to know that he’s in command of what’s going on and that someone else isn’t pulling the strings behind the scenes, because that’s what it looked like now.

Ronny Jackson himself was subjected to an Inspector General’s report in March that discovered he engaged in unseemly behaviour involving alcohol use, disparaged and belittled subordinates.

He was Donald Trump’s unsuccessful candidate in 2018 to become the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

The congressman announced earlier on Thursday that he’s sent Joe Biden a letter urging him to take a cognitive test, and Ronny Jackson had been circulating the letter with House co-workers and has been able to get the signatures of 13 GOP lawmakers.

The letter mentions the president’s mental decline and forgetfulness, notes some of his blunders, and urges the White House to publish the test results immediately.

It was addressed to the president, his physician Dr Kevin O’Connor and Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci, and called on Joe Biden to bestow the results with the nation, and it read that the American people deserve to have absolute confidence in their president.

It read that they deserve to know that he or she can perform the duties demanded of the office, and they deserve to have full clarity on the mental state of their highest elected leader and that it could be argued that the American people don’t have that confidence in President Joe Biden.

What is Joe Biden frightened of, that he does have a serious mental health problem? Perhaps he should just have the damn test done so that he can prove everyone wrong, or not!

But if Joe D Mentia does have to leave office, then are America going to be stuck with a cackling fool? And can you imagine Joe Biden getting a letter asking him to take a test for dementia?

At the end of the day, Joe Biden is harmless, Kamala Harris, on the other hand, well, not so sure about that, and I’m guessing that Joe Biden would step down before taking a test for dementia.

Kamala Harris only gained 2 per cent and had to drop out of the 2020 presidential race, and it seems that her own state doesn’t support her and neither does America and she to needs her cognitive abilities tested because the only thing she can do is laugh annoyingly.

The Republicans didn’t appear to worry about mental state when Donald Trump suggested people inject poison to fight COVID, and if Joe Biden is declared incompetent, then Kamala Harris will presumably become president and there’s a good chance Pelosi will be Vice President. Does this look better than having Joe Biden as our President – perhaps people should be careful what they wish for?

John Lewis Boss Says The Firm Has To Give New Staff Basic Literacy And Numeracy Classes

The boss of John Lewis has announced the firm is having to give basic literacy and numeracy classes to young staff because they’ve been failed by the education system.

In a stinging critique of the UK’s education set-up, Dame Sharon White said some of the 16-year-olds it hired didn’t have functional literacy and numeracy skills.

She also warned that children who are less academically inclined are not always able to reach their full potential.

Dame Sharon White said that to have done ten years, 11, 12 years of education, and not having, in many instances, functional literacy, certainly, pretty typically not having functional numeracy exceeding the age of, say, ten, 11, means that they may then have wonderful people skills and fabulous skills in terms of operating in a team but that’s almost without the education system.

Dame Sharon White, a former Ofcom chief who’s been the chair of the John Lewis Partnership since July 2019, made the remarks while talking to the Times Education Commission.

The commission is examining the future of education in light of the COVID 19 crisis.

It will also look at the deterioration in social mobility, as well as how technology can further improve education for children in the United Kingdom.

Former Labour Prime Minister, Tony Blair, as well as children’s laureate, Cressida Cowell, and director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris, are amongst those giving evidence to the committee.

The year-long commission is set to produce the final report in June 2022.

In the meantime, the exam board, Pearson, is currently operating consultation on the exam system.

Called The Future of Assessment, it’s exploring what format qualifications between the ages of 16 and 18 might take in the future, and how effective the system is at supporting young people.

Recent research from the consultation found four out of five employers in the United Kingdom that said qualifications didn’t give young people the skills they required for employment.

Rod Bristow, president of Pearson UK, called for employers to be more involved in education policy.

He told a newspaper outlet that it wasn’t necessarily about creating another exam to test as to whether they had the skills, but it was necessary they knew they had the experience where learning could occur.

Dame Sharon’s comments came after it was announced earlier in the month that John Lewis’s 5,000 office-based staff would work from home three days a week.

The old school system didn’t appear to work either because children that were a little slower than others got left by the wayside. After all, teachers were more interested in those that excelled in their studies, than those that didn’t because it was just less effort to teach them.

After Margaret Thatcher revolutionised the education policy, businesses helped to develop the curriculum to prepare teenagers for work, but that was then all changed, and now they’re all thoroughly brainwashed into wokery and gender equality matters – who needs reading, writing and arithmetic when you have all that?

Standards, morals and discipline have all gradually diminished over the preceding 70 years or so, and the root cause of this is multiculturalism and it starts with the education of our children in school.

Our education system has gradually been degraded over the last seven decades. Adjusting and weakening our national curricula and dumbing down to suit the needs of the lowest common denominators in our society.

It’s time to improve our Great British education system and to treat these kids how they should be treated and to educate them properly, giving complete power back to the teachers and schoolmasters to act with impunity.

Face Masks Forever!

A leaked document gave a glimpse of the UK’s possible new normal with face masks, working from home and travel quarantine rules set to stay beyond July 19.

The Whitehall paper suggests that the government will stop short of urging workers to return to offices even after Freedom Day eventually arrives.

There’s also a suggestion that face masks will be required in some settings long term, as well as keeping post-travel isolation rules.

Anyone who has coronavirus symptoms will still be required to quarantine, according to the draft proposals, and concerns have been raised that more constraints will be needed if the disease surges again in the winter.

The document, seen by Politico, emerged as infuriated Tories predicted up to 70 MPs could inflict a bloody nose on Boris Johnson in a crunch lockdown vote.

The Prime Minister is facing a bruising mutiny from his benches as the Commons was asked to approve the delay of Freedom Day until July 19.

Victory is guaranteed for the government as Labour has thrown its backing behind the extension of the harsh restrictions.

The shift from Boris Johnson, amid warnings from scientists that the Indian variant will cause thousands of more deaths, has angered numerous Conservatives who claim that vaccines have protected the most vulnerable and the country must learn to live with the virus.

The Cabinet Office insisted no decisions had been taken on the guidance after July 19, which Boris Johnson has pledged will represent a terminus point for lockdown, and the premier said that the delay would save thousands of lives and enable millions more to get their first and second jabs.

But he insisted he’s confident he’ll finally be able to end restrictions on July 19, describing it as a terminus point, while declining to give a definite guarantee.

Jacob Rees-Mogg hinted at a growing division in Cabinet by suggesting it was wrong to keep restrictions in place once all vulnerable people and over 50s had been given their second jabs, a point which has already been established.

He said people below that age were not at particular risk, adding that overwhelmingly the most important thing was the number of deaths and that people going into hospital for a couple of days and coming out was not particularly important.

In an interview with the Conservative Home website, he added that ultimately, the NHS was there to serve the British people, not the British people there to serve the NHS, and hence they might need to spend more money on hospitals, and that you couldn’t run society just to stop the hospitals being full, otherwise they’d never let people get into their cars and drive anywhere or do any of the other things that people want to do, so that had to be some proportionality.

But once the government build the 40 new hospitals and recruit the 50,000 additional nurses that they promised in the 2019 manifesto, the NHS might not be under so much pressure again – the Tories just have to meet their election promises, but then when was the last time any of these parties fulfilled even half of their election promises?

But isn’t this just about scare tactics because Boris Johnson failed to build the hospitals and recruit the nurses required for an overpopulated country, but despite all the broken promises, the sheep keep voting for them – will they never learn?

Perhaps we should prepare for chaos? Because the government has just moved to the next phase, which means, they plan for you to lose all confidence, they intend for the culling of fools and they plan for chaos, and from all that chaos they hope that their new order will be demanded, and the society they wish to give is a vision of hell, and the society that they’re removing was at best tolerable.

NHS Worker Refuses To Apologise

An NHS worker who was spared prison after using a dead COVID patient’s bank card to purchase crisps, sweets and fizzy beverages from a hospital vending machine has refused to apologise.

Healthcare assistant Ayesha Basharat, 23, used the 83-year-old woman’s card only 17 minutes after she died at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital on January 24.

She used the contactless touchpad on a vending machine in the hospital to make six £1 purchases.

Police said that she made another £1 purchase that evening before attempting to use the card again when she next returned to work four days later, by which time, the card had been cancelled.

Ayesha Basharat, from Farm Road, Birmingham initially insisted she found it on the floor and got it mixed up with her card when paying.

She admitted theft and fraud by false representation at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, June 9 and was handed down two five-month jail terms to run concurrently, both suspended for 18 months.

According to reports, Ayesha Basharat refused to apologise to the pensioner’s family when confronted at her home in Sparkhill.

She reportedly said that she didn’t want to talk about it and that she had nothing to say, while stood on the doorstep with her father and elder brother by her side.

She didn’t answer when she was asked why she had used the bank card and refused to respond when asked if she was upset at the possibility of losing her job.

The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Heartlands Hospital, said Ayesha Basharat was suspended from her position when they were made aware of the incident. An internal inquiry has also been launched.

A spokesperson for the trust said that Ayesha Basharat was quickly suspended when this incident came to light and all measures were taken to support the patient’s family.

The spokesperson said that the trust had fully supported the police with their inquiry, which concluded in Ayesha Basharat’s conviction, and the trust would now continue with their internal HR processes, with due attention given to the criminal conviction that Ms Basharat had received.

The spokesperson said that they would like to extend their condolences to the patient’s family and truly apologise for their experience – that the incident was shameful and fell short of the high standards of integrity that they all expect of NHS workers.

This destroyed Mr Basharat’s career and reputation for £7, which is utterly crazy, and a suspended sentence – looks like crime pays, but obviously, this woman has no morals, and it’s despicable.

Ms Basharat should never be permitted to work again as a nurse because she’s not deserving of the uniform, and she held a position of trust where people are at their most vulnerable, and nothing less than sacking is acceptable, but the NHS has to go through a process, and you’d have to be a very particular kind of person to use a dead person’s bank card.

And it’s the arrogance about this woman, making out as though she was the wounded party, and yet we were all clapping for them a few months ago like they were all saints, and what was going on in her head at the time, well who knows, but there are countless self-indulgent and selfish people in society today, but most ordinary folk would never dream of doing this, and the fact that she used contactless payment on a dead person’s card to save a few pounds beggars belief.

A Pregnant Woman Who Throws Up Multiple Times A Day

A pregnant woman who throws up many times a day due to morning sickness has revealed how her neighbour threatened to report her loud puking to management, before asking her to run water or play music to neutralise the noise.

Posting anonymously on Reddit, the woman, who lives in an apartment building thought to be in America, told how her resident wanted to make a formal complaint about her vomiting.

Writing on the Am I Being an Asshole thread, the mother to be explained that on some days she throws up multiple times a day, adding that the walls in her apartment are so thin she can sometimes hear the next-door neighbours conversations, and it wasn’t long before startled forum users took to the comments section to condemn the neighbour for being so indifferent.

The neighbour is going to talk to the management, what does she think will come of that? What does the neighbour want her to work a vomiting schedule, or does she think that management might know a way of getting rid of her morning sickness?

In the initial post, the woman in question explained that her neighbour tapped on her door and said she could hear her loud puking all the time and that she has a gag reflex when she hears people throwing up, and she said that she’d almost thrown up after hearing her.

The woman added that the resident demanded she turn on her bathroom fan, plays music or runs water before she was sick.

She continued that she’s in her first trimester and hasn’t even told her family that she’s pregnant yet, so she didn’t want to share with her neighbour, but that it seemed as if she was implying that she was intentionally making herself puke, so she felt like she had to explain.

She told her neighbour that she was sorry to have disturbed her, that she had morning sickness and would attempt to turn her fan on before she got sick.

She also told her neighbour that her vomiting could come on suddenly, so no guarantees, but her neighbour didn’t appear satisfied with this, but said okay and left.

The mother-to-be went on to say she’d been trying to keep the noise down and turning her fan on, but added it had been stressful, and despite her best efforts, the neighbour was still unsatisfied and complained once again.

Imagine how miserable she’ll be with a newborn that cries all day and night and then a toddler who stomps about because vomiting noises are nothing compared to that, but sadly, when you move into an apartment, you really do have to cope with the sounds that are around you, and if you don’t want the noise, don’t move into an apartment.

And perhaps the complaining woman should just hang out with the pregnant lady in her bathroom so she can do her gag reflex as well. It’s not the poor woman is really responsible for throwing up, and it’s not like somehow a person can extinguish an autonomous reflex in some way.

And really, it’s just criminal to build apartments that allow you to hear a conversation – this is not satisfactory housing and the building management along with the builders should be held accountable.

This is a lack of compassion and whether a person has experienced morning sickness or not, that person should have some empathy for the person that is going through this temporarily, which is a pretty tough time during pregnancy – sometimes it’s just nice to hold your tongue, which this neighbour couldn’t do, and likes to hear the sound of her voice above the puking.

The Army Must Help Get Food To Shops

A driver deficit has triggered calls for the Army to be on standby to deliver food to convenience stores, pubs, eateries and care homes.

The Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) said that the situation had reached crisis point, leading to empty racks and a prospect of empty plates, and local convenience stores have now resorted to putting up signs informing customers of shortages due to the lack of delivery drivers.

Pubs and restaurant chains are also not getting the fresh produce deliveries they expect, and supplies of beer, milk and other chilled products are being hit, while there are concerns the situation might hit tanker deliveries of fuel to petrol stations.

James Bielby, chief executive of the FWD, said there’s an estimated 70,000 shortfall in HGV drivers.

The Road Haulage Association said the crisis has been triggered by a combination of Brexit, which has led to a cut in European truckers, and COVID, which has seen no new HGV drivers trained for a year.

James Bielby said that the situation had reached a crisis point and it’s expected to get more serious as more hospitality venues open and demand increases and that the Government needs to act pretty swiftly.

He said that they were concerned enough to suggest that the Government considers having Army trucks on standby to ensure there are enough vehicles and drivers to distribute food.

James Bielby added that with the estimated 70,000 shortall in HGV drivers, some wholesalers have had to restrict the number of deliveries they make to convenience stores which has led to some availability problems.

He said product manufacturers who supply into the wholesale channel have had similar problems with drivers, and their members reporting particular problems, getting soft drinks, beer, and chilled products like cream, cheese, yoghurt and meats.

The government lengthened the hours that professional delivery drivers are permitted behind the wheel during the pandemic, however, this ended recently, and the FWD urged the Government to reinstate this and make Army drivers ready to deliver to vulnerable communities.

A sign erected in the window of a Budgens store at Greater Blakenham, near Ipswich, in Suffolk, read that due to a national deficit of delivery drivers they were experiencing cancellations in deliveries resulting in low stock around the store.

Dairy giant Arla said that this is a real crisis this Summer because of COVID creating an accumulation of new drivers passing their tests, changes to tax rules, some drivers from the EU countries returning home, some others on furlough and other factors, and that like many others in the industry, they were seeing costs going up, and they were working hard to restrict the impact that this would have on prices.

So, do people need to go out and panic buy and stock up on toilet rolls again? Because soon we will see the military on our streets slowly being increased, and things can only get worse.

And this is Boris Johnson’s Brexit, the gift that keeps giving, and even though he can’t control the basics now, like whether essential goods turn up in the shops, at least they’ve taken back control.

And there’s no surprise that there’s a deficit of lorry drivers because in truth it’s a dog’s life with tremendous responsibility, which messes up the persons home and social life, and the general public don’t even pause to consider how stocks get to the stores or the effort the drivers have to make to get them there.

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