Brexit

[MisterC]

I always found the Brexit referendum a fascinating - sad, but fascinating - example of a perfect storm. 25 years of large sections of the media ridiculing and spreading lies about Brussels at every turn, Tory politicians more interested in advancing their careers than doing the right thing, an unapologetic out-and-out racist campaign from Farrage et al., a Labour leader whose disdain for the EU was well-known, yet who still had to campaign for it, and a Remain campaign lead by one of the most hated PM's of the modern era, who had called the referendum in a desperate act to keep his job, and his chancellor who had introduced the crippling austerity to large sections of the populace, and thus wasn't much loved either.

That it was even as close as it became makes me appreciate the Remainers all the more.

[busterbunker]

Early on, I asked a friend in London "what's the deal with Brexit?"

"Donald Trump," he replied, and I got it right away. The parallels were obvious.

It reminded me of when I lived there, people would hassle me, "what's the deal with Ronald Reagan?"

"Maggie Thatcher," I'd reply, and an argument was averted.

[RTH10260]

I always found the Brexit referendum a fascinating - sad, but fascinating - example of a perfect storm. 25 years of large sections of the media ridiculing and spreading lies about Brussels at every turn, Tory politicians more interested in advancing their careers than doing the right thing, an unapologetic out-and-out racist campaign from Farrage et al., a Labour leader whose disdain for the EU was well-known, yet who still had to campaign for it, and a Remain campaign lead by one of the most hated PM's of the modern era, who had called the referendum in a desperate act to keep his job, and his chancellor who had introduced the crippling austerity to large sections of the populace, and thus wasn't much loved either.

That it was even as close as it became makes me appreciate the Remainers all the more.

Having observed several Brexit vloggers on Youtube I can say that none - like zero - had any understanding of the function of the EU. The participating nations remain sovereign, keep their local parliaments and government. It's only one the commerce side where they agreed to joinn forces in a Single Market. And the Single Market has its rules, made up "by the Brussels Bureaucracy", but Brexiteers ignore that all participants have agreed that those rules make sense for them, each national parliament has implemented those rules in the local legislation. Rules have not been imposed upon them. Fun fact - many of the rules that targeted third countries and are now biting the UK were requested and or agreed by the UK themselve.

What is happening just now is the result of a complete mis-management of preparing for the separation. The UK has had five years to do the necessary things, like building customs houses at the ports and training custums officials, like implementing the necessary computer systems and training both officials and commerce in its use. But it seems that especially Boris Johnson was expecting that the UK would remain associated with the Single Market, similar to Switzerland, with little border controls. But at the same time Johnson wanted "total sovereingity", eg we don't need no f*ing EU rules.

[MisterC]

What is happening just now is the result of a complete mis-management of preparing for the separation. The UK has had five years to do the necessary things, like building customs houses at the ports and training custums officials, like implementing the necessary computer systems and training both officials and commerce in its use. But it seems that especially Boris Johnson was expecting that the UK would remain associated with the Single Market, similar to Switzerland, with little border controls. But at the same time Johnson wanted "total sovereingity", eg we don't need no f*ing EU rules.

Absolutely, the post-referendum period was marked by what can only described as madness. IIRC Article 50 was triggered before the UK had even come to terms with what they wanted, other than Theresa May's red lines - which were even more insane, as they basically neutered the negotiations before they had even started.

[Uninformed]

Sigh…

[RTH10260]

Sorry, but I cannot help posting this rant by a vlogger (iirc he is a small business owner)

Brexit madness: Now Kwasi Kwarteng wants to train up +100,000 lorry drivers!
28 Aug 2021

Michael Lambert

Our new immigration policy makes it all but impossible for low paid workers to come to the U.K. even if they want to. Shortages of workers as a result of this policy are already having a serious negative impact on our economy. This is not temporary. Neither the Labour Party policy of asking the government to issue 10,000 temporary work permits nor the government's policy of training up 100,000 or more new HGV drivers will work. Unions representing workers in sectors most affected by the absence of EU workers are in a very strong position to demand much better pay and conditions from a government and employers which they will have to concede. The government is in a very weak position as result of the folly of its Brexit policy and because of their own incompetence.
CORRECTIONS: The Scottish Secretary is Alister Jack and not Ian Jack as I said
The average of British lorry drivers is 55 and nor 59 as I stated.

PS. at about 15" he compares the income of a lorry driver with a driver of a tube train (underground) in London: trainees start at the same salary as a lorry driver makes, about £33000/year, after entering full service they get £50000+ with perks added.

[Uninformed]

There is the frightening possibility that the UK government’s policies and their results are deliberate

(Incompetence is much much more likely)

[RTH10260]

Labour shortages leave UK farms with 70,000 surplus pigs
Industry group warns of potential cull of healthy animals while meat processors struggle to fulfil orders
Some slaughterhouses running as much as a quarter below normal capacity, said the head of the National Pig Association

Judith Evans
AUGUST 26 2021

The UK’s pig producers have warned they are weeks away from culling healthy animals after labour shortages in abattoirs caused a backlog of 70,000 surplus animals on farms.

The National Pig Association is the latest group to sound the alarm over the effects on its members from a lack of workers that has hit food production and haulage, with knock-on effects to many UK supply chains.

Zoe Davies, chief executive of the association, said some slaughterhouses were running as much as a quarter below normal capacity, leaving about 15,000 extra pigs per week stuck on farms.

“If they don’t do something soon we will have to destroy perfectly healthy pigs,” she said.

Surplus pigs incur extra costs in the form of feed and penalties charged by processors for overweight animals. This has added to pressures on pig farmers, many of whom have been operating at a loss since the winter, after problems caused by the UK’s exit from the EU left them with a surplus of animals at the start of the year, said Davies.

“It’s devastating to a lot of farmers who had only just sorted themselves out from the last time,” she said. “We are expecting quite a big exodus from the pig sector next year.”



https://www.ft.com/content/ad37558e-be8 ... ace20938a7

[RTH10260]

UK school uniform supplier warns of Covid-related shortages
School Uniform Direct tells customers to order soon because of production and transport delays

Zoe Wood
Fri 16 Jul 2021 12.02 BST

Families are being warned of potential school uniform shortages as the supply of blazers and PE kits is interrupted by coronavirus-related production and transport delays.

The school uniform market is the latest to be hit as the flow of goods into UK retailers is affected by disruption in overseas factories and a shortage of shipping containers, together with the fallout from Brexit.

The specialist retailer School Uniform Direct, which supplies more than 100 UK schools, has written to thousands of customers urging them to place their orders by the end of this month, so it can “resolve any major setbacks with stock”.

Alex Gani, a director of the London-based family clothing firm, said its suppliers had told it they were “experiencing major production interruptions”.

He said: “This is for several reasons, from shipping and container shortages to lockdown and restricted working conditions in manufacturing countries.”

School Uniform Direct placed orders as far back as last autumn for this year’s back-to-school season but although 70% of deliveries had arrived on time, it was proving difficult to predict when the remainder would arrive, Gani said.

“A lot of our production is done here in the UK; it is the more technical stuff that tends to be made in places like India or Bangladesh,” Gani said.

A holdup at any stage means the “whole chain ends up having the problem”, he said, with the squeeze most acute for harder-to-sew pieces, such as blazers and trousers, as well as sportswear made out of specialist technical fabrics.

Gani described the situation as a perfect storm, with problems caused by the pandemic being overlaid by shipping companies offloading containers at mainland European ports to avoid any hold-ups at UK customs. Other retailers would also be experiencing similar problems, he suggested.

[RTH10260]

more fallout from Brexit and the UK introducing new immigration rules

'Borderline unconstitutional'
Couple divided by Irish border because of post-Brexit rules
Corrinne and Brett Giles live in Donegal and Derry counties due to ‘borderline unconstitutional’ application of immigration rule

Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent
Mon 30 Aug 2021 12.10 BST

A South African doctor and her British husband are living on either side of the Irish border because of what one MP called a “borderline unconstitutional” application of post-Brexit immigration rules.

Corrinne and Brett Giles live 25 miles apart in Donegal and Derry counties respectively, with Corrinne in a “constant state of anxiety” waiting for a family permit to join her husband in the UK.

The A&E doctor, who worked on the Covid frontline, is out of a job and “living out of a suitcase” because she felt she could not extend her contract in Ireland as she was imminently emigrating to the UK.

Eight months on, she faces having to go back to South Africa as her residency rights in Ireland come to an end. She could risk the threat of deportation if she was caught illegally entering Northern Ireland.

Since Britain left the EU, UK citizens’ non-British spouses need to apply for pre-settled status before 29 March next year if they want to return as a family to the country visa-free. They are eligible only if they get a new EU family permit for the UK first.

Before Brexit, Britons’ relatives could return to the UK at any time without visas under free movement laws that applied to EU and non-EU spouses. Post-Brexit, that route ended, but the UK government, under pressure, pledged to keep the visa-free door open until March next year, enabling non-British spouses to apply for pre-settled or settled status.

But their EU family permit ceased to be recognised after Brexit by the Home Office, which now requires applicants to be issued with a UK issued family permit.

After 15 years in South Africa, the Gileses moved to Ireland two years ago, wanting to be closer to family in the UK while Corrinne worked in Letterkenny university hospital’s A&E unit.

Their saga began eight months ago on starting to explore their options to move to England. They discovered there was a visa-free route for Corrinne under a Brexit side-deal which allows non-EU nationals entry to the UK as long as they first get a family permit from the Home Office.


https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... exit-rules

[RTH10260]

food rationing on the horizon?

what one vlogger thinks

[RTH10260]

Food shortage crisis ‘going to get tougher’ as schools reopen, says wholesaler boss

By Jonathan PrynnConsumer Business Editor@JonPrynn
26 August 2021

Britain’s food shortage crisis will get worse when school and office canteens re-open next month, piling extra pressure on already stretched suppliers, a leading wholesaler warned on Thursday.

Coral Rose, managing director of the Country Range foodservice group, which supplies care homes and schools as well as pubs and restaurants, said the problems caused by the huge shortfall of HGV drivers were already “very significant”.

But speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she said it “is going to get worse” and called for urgent government help.

She said: “We’re trying our very best. We’re taking drastic action such as buying smaller delivery vehicles to make sure we don’t need people with specific HGV licenses to drive them, because there is going to be increased pressure as schools re-open, people continue to holiday in the UK and people return back to offices so staff feeding may re-open again.


https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/food ... 52438.html

a vlogger on this

► Show Spoiler

[RTH10260]

The flu shots come from the continent...

GPs scramble to cancel clinics as flu vaccine deliveries delayed by 'up to two weeks'
By Nick Bostock on the 3 September 2021

Deliveries of flu vaccine will be delayed for up to two weeks after the UK's largest supplier told GP practices jabs would be disrupted due to 'unforeseen road freight challenges'.

The delay leaves GP practices scrambling to cancel vaccination appointments just days before the start of what will be the UK's largest ever flu vaccination campaign.

Disruption to flu vaccine deliveries comes at a time when practices are already facing unprecedented workload - and adds to confusion over how the seasonal influenza campaign will fit around a possible COVID-19 booster rollout. Delays to flu jab supplies have also come as the NHS faces a chronic shortage of blood tubes that has forced GPs to cancel all but essential tests.

In a letter from Seqirus - the UK's largest supplier of flu vaccines - seen by GPonline, practices have been advised not to re-book clinics until they receive a further update confirming a new date on which they can expect a delivery of vaccine.

Flu vaccine delay

The letter confirms that 'unforeseen road freight challenges' - interpreted by at least one GP as a reference to the national shortage of HGV drivers that has disrupted deliveries across a range of industries - are behind the delay.

Seqirus UK and Ireland cluster head Helen Concilia told GPonline: 'Due to unforeseen challenges linked with road freight delays, we have informed all our customers of a consequent delay to their scheduled vaccine delivery by a maximum of one to two weeks.


https://www.gponline.com/gps-scramble-c ... le/1726349

[RTH10260]

Wagamama struggling to find chefs at a fifth of its UK sites
Boss of restaurant chain blames high demand, supply chain problems and EU workers leaving after Brexit

Chief executive Thomas Heier said the pan-Asian restaurant chain has staff shortages at 30 of its 147 sites. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
Jasper Jolly
Mon 6 Sep 2021 00.01 BST

The boss of Wagamama has said the restaurant chain is struggling to hire chefs at a fifth of its sites, as companies across the economy warn of recruitment difficulties.

The end of most coronavirus pandemic restrictions in the UK has led to a bounce back in demand for the hospitality industry, which was among the hardest-hit sectors. However, many restaurants, bars and hotels are struggling to find enough workers to fill roles.

Wagamama, which serves pan-Asian food, has been hit by shortages of staff from Europe following Brexit immigration restrictions, its chief executive, Thomas Heier, told the Press Association, with difficulties at 30 of its 147 sites.

“We’ve seen a reduction in our EU workforce in particular,” Heier said, “but the other thing we’re seeing is increased competition from logistics and delivery firms who are struggling with an increased number of vacancies.”

UKHospitality, an industry lobby group, has described the shortage of staff as “critical”. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that there was a 10% vacancy rate in the hospitality sector, equivalent to 210,000 roles.

Ratings agency Fitch last week said the movement of workers out of the UK back to the EU had been “intensified by Brexit”. It added that European employers were facing similar challenges, although freedom of movement between EU countries coupled with higher unemployment meant the problems were less acute.


https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... s-uk-sites

[fierceredpanda]

My suggested alternative headline to literally all the Brexit related news these days:

BREAKING: Island Nation Cuts Self Off From Global Economy; Citizens Surprised to Discover Shortages of Literally Everything

Or, more concisely:

DEVELOPING: UK Caught Unprepared for Migratory Return of Roosting Brexit Chickens

[RTH10260]

The canibalism in the British workforce

Looks like there is some deep insight into the problems of shortage of manpower getting discussed. Workers are now getting mobile, moving to better paying jobs leaving behind a space that itself needs filling. But where does one get that replacement when there is no waiting list.

Eg communities are losing garbage collection drivers that are now changing to a better paid haulage job. There seems to be some interest into training as HGV lorry drivers, crossing over from other jobs, and leaving an open position behind.

A vlogger comments on a tweet on this issue

[Azastan]

That makes sense, though, doesn't it? Why stay in a lower paying job when you've been urged all along to move up to a better station in life, and now you have the perfect opportunity.

[Volkonski]

That makes sense, though, doesn't it? Why stay in a lower paying job when you've been urged all along to move up to a better station in life, and now you have the perfect opportunity.

Certainly. Especially as Britain has a large shortage of HGV drivers.

[MisterC]

Amidst all the talk of rushing new HGV drivers through, a nice reminder of the forces being dealt with:

Red Funnel Southampton check-in kiosk flattened by lorry

Three ferry staff members had a lucky escape when the kiosk they were working in was flattened by a passing HGV.

Passengers and other staff members rushed to help when the lorry struck the kiosk at Town Quay in Southampton shortly before 13:00 BST.

Red Funnel said three staff members were inside at the time. One woman was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

It warned of disruption to road traffic and sailings to and from the Isle of Wight.

The crash was captured on a webcam located in a nearby building.

[fierceredpanda]

That makes sense, though, doesn't it? Why stay in a lower paying job when you've been urged all along to move up to a better station in life, and now you have the perfect opportunity.

Certainly. Especially as Britain has a large shortage of HGV drivers.

I'm not in any real sense a true believer in Marxism, but this (and the similar issues restaurant owners are having here in the US) certainly does illustrate the limitations of capitalism.

Bourgeoisie: Look, proletarian types. You've just got to have the ambition and motivation to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps and get ahead, and you can be just like us.
Proletarians: Great idea. We're going to try to get better jobs, then.
Bourgeoisie: Wait, what? We need someone to wait tables and wash dishes at our restaurants, or drive trucks to keep our just-in-time supply chains from coming to a complete standstill. We were counting on you proles to keep doing those things!
Proletarians: Pay us more?
Bourgeoisie: ...no?
Proletarians: So you admit your system requires a huge percentage of people be consigned to jobs you aren't willing to pay enough to actually get ahead in order for things to, you know, work?
Bourgeoisie: ...yes?
Proletarians: Well, fuck you then.

Add to the fact that Britain has an additional problem of lorry drivers largely coming from other EU nations (the very same ones that British voters said they can do without), and you can sort of see the source of the problem.

[RTH10260]

That makes sense, though, doesn't it? Why stay in a lower paying job when you've been urged all along to move up to a better station in life, and now you have the perfect opportunity.

Certainly. Especially as Britain has a large shortage of HGV drivers.

Add to the fact that Britain has an additional problem of lorry drivers largely coming from other EU nations (the very same ones that British voters said they can do without), and you can sort of see the source of the problem.

Once the Brits have sorted it out how to get sufficient drivers they will be presented with the next problem: they have too few trucks to actually move all the goods they reularily need.

As part of the EU, not only did they have the drivers, but the drivers came with their own trucks (freelancing) or EU companies sent the trucks into the UK. In Europe there is a rule named the cabottage, the right to pick up goods and deliver within the country of the pickup, with unlimited number of pickup and dropoff locations. What is left now is no cabottage but only import with transport to a first dropoff location and optionally one (1) additional stop, and only permitted to pickup cargo for direct export at those stops. The UK is lacking dearly those inner-UK transport capacities. Also too, cause of the paperwork situation and the administrative troubles and uncalculable delays at the exit ports, many operators prefer to leave the UK empty on the fastpath.

[RTH10260]

Boris playing with the EUs patience

UK extends post-Brexit grace period over Northern Ireland indefinitely
Government source says UK wants to ‘create space for talks to happen without deadlines looming’

Aubrey Allegretti, Daniel Boffey and Lisa O'Carroll
Mon 6 Sep 2021 19.37 BST

Plans for post-Brexit checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland have been suspended indefinitely by the UK after negotiations with the EU reached a stalemate.

Grace periods designed to ease the transition into new trading arrangements and checks on the island of Ireland have twice been extended as part of diplomatic wrangling labelled “the sausage wars”.

On Monday evening David Frost, who is leading negotiations with the EU about updating the contentious Northern Ireland protocol, revealed a fresh extension, with no new deadline set for the completion of talks.

A government source said the UK wanted to “create space for talks to happen without deadlines looming” every three or six months. They added they had been transparent with the EU about their decision and the announcement was “coordinated, if not agreed upon”.

The source claimed that setting a new deadline just a few months away, with the current grace periods set to expire in October, “doesn’t help foster a creative environment for talks” and so the protocol “will carry on being operated as it is now for as long as there are talks ongoing”.

While Brussels withheld its formal agreement on the move, the EU will hold back from launching legal proceedings over the extension of the status quo, with a spokesman saying the European Commission is “not moving to the next stage of the infringement procedure launched in March 2021, and is not opening any new infringements for now”. Sources said a number of key EU leaders felt there was little to gain from confronting Boris Johnson’s government.


https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... d-protocol

[RTH10260]

the negotiator of the Brexit deal want's the EU now to admit to radical changes

David Frost: Irish Sea row risks damaging UK-EU relations long term
Minister says government will not ‘sweep away’ NI Brexit protocol, but renews demands for major changes

Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent
Sat 4 Sep 2021 12.35 BST

The UK will not “sweep away” the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol, despite renewed calls for its abolition by the Democratic Unionist party, the Brexit minister has said.

However, David Frost renewed his demands for fundamental changes on its implementation, warning the row could have a long-term chilling effect on wider EU-UK relations unless it was resolved.

“I worry that if we didn’t solve this issue, it is capable of generating the sorts of cold mistrust which will last between us and the European Union, and [the mistrust] will spread across the whole relationship [and] will hold back the potential for a new era of cooperation between us in a world which does need us to work together,” he said at the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford on Saturday.

The row over the protocol, known in some quarters as “sausage wars”, blew up within days of Brexit being enforced in January, with barriers imposed for the first time for trade of food, plants and medicines from Great Britain.

But with talks set to resume, Lord Frost told the meeting of senior public figures that triggering article 16 and suspending the protocol was not his preferred option, even though the threshold for such a move had been met.

“Some would like us to sweep everything away. That’s not our position,” Frost told delegates.

He called on the EU to engage seriously with proposals for radical changes to the protocol published in a UK government command paper in July, arguing “the proposals do not remove it [the Northern Ireland protocol]” and actually “retain controls in the Irish Sea for certain purposes”.



https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -long-term

[Uninformed]

The bunch of liars never intended to honour the agreement they signed; always intending to use the political issues around a Eire / NI border to pressure the EU. I believe the EU will approach this with great caution but they know full well what is being done and won’t forgive or forget. I suspect the UK will find this will impact other areas yet to be agreed, to our long-term detriment.

[RTH10260]

speaking about dirty washing ...

Bed linen and staff shortages force UK hotels to cut back services
Sheets changed less frequently and check-ins delayed as laundries struggle to return items promptly

Alice Hancock in London SEPTEMBER 5 2021

Hotels across the UK have been forced to limit bed linen changes and delay guest check-ins after a boom in domestic travel collided with a chronic shortage of staff.

Intercontinental Hotel Group, owner of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels, is among major hospitality companies that have reported difficulties with outsourced linen and towel supplies, as laundries struggle to keep pace with tight turnround times.

“The laundry supply chain cuts across staffing challenges, distribution and logistics,” said Kenneth Macpherson, chief executive of IHG Europe, Middle East and Africa. To mitigate the impact, the group has limited daily bed linen changes at some hotels for guests staying multiple nights.

The hotel industry is not alone. Worker shortages and supply chain disruption have hit businesses up and down the country, leading to empty shelves at retailers and reduced opening hours at restaurants, while many manufacturers have struggled to keep up with orders.

Richard Cooke, general manager at The Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh, which is suffering shortages of bed sheets, towels, restaurant napkins and tablecloths, said that he was limiting occupancy at the hotel to “significantly below” 2019 levels in order to cope with staffing and laundry constraints.

Other hoteliers have delayed guest check-ins to allow laundries time to return linen to hotels, while Brett Powis, owner of three hotels in the seaside resort town of Torquay, said that he had invested more than £12,000 in commercial laundry equipment in order to do one hotel’s washing in-house as the company’s usual launderer was unable to keep up with demand.

Commercial laundries servicing hotels operate on tight margins and quick turnround times. They typically rent linen to hotels for about three years or up to 170 washes and clean dirty sheets and towels within 24 hours.

During the pandemic, the majority wound down operations and furloughed staff while hotels were shut. Many of those workers moved back to their countries of origin or found more stable jobs in other sectors.



https://www.ft.com/content/a44bd387-728 ... d48e2adf66