Thread by @thelorryist

Seeing news reports of a shortage of lorry drivers and a worry of empty shelves? You might be asking why.

I will try and explain a bit. Broadly, since as long as I can remember, there has been a shortage of lorry drivers. This is not a job people in the 21st century, want 1/

It's hard work, the hours are long
It can be dirty, heavy manual work
It's dangerous
It's complex and highly regulated
It's bad for your health and your diet
It's bad for your family and social life
It is poorly paid, per hour, on average
The cost of entry is high

2/

You could argue, wrongly, that little has changed in the profession since the 70s. This is the public perception of the role.

So British people don't want to do it, and haven't wanted to for over 20 years. This is not a new problem.

But in 2004. The EU welcomed new members

And the UK, being one of only 3 member states to do so, opened it's doors immediately to this additional labour force.

The industry was ripe for this fresh blood and work ethic, and hard working Eastern European drivers have quietly been keeping the UK industry moving ever since

But this influx of migrant workers fanned the flames of division and racism in the UK and was a useful tool to the powers that be in highlighting the immigration 'problem' and they jumped to label it a Blair legacy

The 'problem' that keeps our economy running, to be clear

Which brings us to Brexit, and the disaster that followed.

All the drivers have gone 'home', compounded with a 9 month gap in practical HGV tests being postponed due to COVID in the UK, and we may just have hit critical mass.

And yards full of trucks with no drivers.

And in all likelyhood you won't notice the problem because if COVID has highlighted anything, it is how good this industry is at carrying on. No fanfare

But, on a small island, everything comes by truck

Trucks need drivers. There aren't any

And we don't know how to fix it

FIN