Boris Johnson love-bombs HGV drivers to return to work

Murt10

Can't think of anything more likely to keep me away from work, than this prcik sending me a letter, appealing to me to come back. If I could do anything, however small or trivial, to upset or annoy him, I would, and with the greatest pleasure.

Remember how he clapped with the rest of the UK, to show his appreciation for the NHS staff during the height of the Covid crisis, which he was personally responsible for exaserbating, and he then proceeded to offer them a well below inflation 1% pay rise, for their troubles after the crisis had eased a bit.

The HGV drivers are not going to be as naive as the nurses. I think they'll respond with a unified and far more appropriate response - Fcuk off and show me the money.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10029141/Boris-Johnson-sends-million-morale-boosting-letters-HGV-drivers-calls-pay-rises.html

mary 2021

They are offering big salaries can we irish go over to work there anymore?

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942203#Comment_117942203

Ireland and the UK share a Common travel area and are unaffected by Brexit.

On the subject of HGV drivers. That the UK think they may get 5000 drivers in for 12weeks after the way non UK drivers were treated is arrogance of the highest calibre!

Couple that with the current changes proposed to UK licensing? The simple truth is the UK are racing to qualify drivers who won't even be legally able to drive abroad 🤦‍♂️

Shapps has announced reduced testing requirements, increased testing capacity via Army Instructors and all to rush Drivers out the door for the most congested, poor weather, murky period of the year, with an added bonus of extended Tacho/driving hours?

There will be deaths on foot of this bullshit.

Even after all that, they may if the get 5000 in from the EU, reach an additional 9000 drivers some of them dangerously underqualified!

Still leaving them 91k short at a minimum.

Mister Vain

Phil McCann 🤣

Wanderer78

drivers are definitely in a better position at the moment, they need to stick together though, and get as much as they can, and best of luck to them

votecounts

Brexit really is a disaster for them. I hope all those little englanders are happy queuing for petrol as their racism got them in to this mess in the first place.

Kermit.de.frog

...

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942349#Comment_117942349

ah its a cluster fcuk, they were hoodwinked into it, they ll know all about it, as soon as covid moves on, and it wont be pretty

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942357#Comment_117942357

Whilst the media and the government lied to the electorate, the electorate allowed themselves to be duped by not informing themselves before the vote and then in the subsequent elections.

There were many out there back in 2016 (and since) who outlined the risks from Brexit and were ridiculed by the media and government but their message was there to be listened to.

The lack of engagement in their national politics by British people in general is what has caused this mess.

enricoh

It mightn't suit those on here gloating about Brexit but we aren't too far away from the same craic in Ireland.

There was a haulier head honcho on the news the other day saying the situation here is on a knife edge. If the Brits are now paying top dollar for drivers surely plenty of drivers here will jump ship.

More power to the drivers - the ball is in their court for the first time in a long time.

Shao Kahn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942357#Comment_117942357

Ah now, don't be such a doom monger. I'm sure the UK will do fine outside the EU eventually. There was always going to be some rough waters early on. We need a strong stable UK for Ireland's economy to bounce back after covid, so I wouldn't be wishing too much misfortune on the old enemy.

Some people seem to be having a hard time moving on from the result of a democratic election.

SEPT 23 1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942427#Comment_117942427

100k a year did I hear correctly?

mass exodus from here if that’s the case

BorneTobyWilde

A lot of trucks carry produce for stores, supermarkets, ie not 30 tons of muck. My point being that they should be making trailers longer, currently trailer can be 44ft long, make it 55ft long, so for every 3 x 55ft long trailer, one truck is taking off the road, less drivers needed, and good for the environment, while keeping the weight limit the same, a truck load of clothes weights nothing, or Cornflakes, or shoes, or pillows ect. So much of what is hauled is very light, nowhere near the 44 ton limit. Longer trailers equals less drivers and less pollution. Kelloggs have trucks leaving their factory in uk non stop, they'd need far less trucks with longer trailers.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943261#Comment_117943261

Would your extra long trucks be able to negotiate most bends in the road?

Would they be allowed out of GB?

Given that drivers will have less ability to drive with the new testing system, how will giving them an even bigger trailer to pull work out in terms of road safety?

Also, just because they may be less bad for the environment than regular HGV trailers does not mean that they are good for the environment.

magicbastarder

apt.

Though a very different scenario and different personalities, brings me right back to the 80s with Thatcher and the coal miners. This will be a major legacy for Boris, and Farage the fire-starter is nowhere to be seen. Britain is in for a very tough ride, and that doesn’t bode well for us either. A real winter of discontent ahead as I indicated when I started a different thread to this effect.

FintanMcluskey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942391#Comment_117942391

The electorate in Ireland are be no better informed than our British counterparts

The death of journalism causes stuff like this

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942794#Comment_117942794

no doom mongering going on here, we re currently watching the true affects of when a country leaves its main trading partners, this wont be good for any of us, especially the uk. yes we all do indeed need a strong uk economy, but for some time, this probably isnt going to occur, and this in turn will be an issue for us all.

ive no problem at all at accepting a 'democratic' vote, but the reality is, the voting public were actually bullsh1tted by brexiters

Triangle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942794#Comment_117942794

I agree that eventually the UK will stabalise. Im not so sure about ireland/uk trade. This is a huge chance for eu retailers to get ties with ireland (and versa)

Once the supply chains are setup, its difficult to move them.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944127#Comment_117944127

most of our trade is done with the eu anyway, the uk only accounts for a very small percentage, we ve well moved on from our past of the uk being our primary trade partner

Shao Kahn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944127#Comment_117944127

Yeah I agree. I don't think trade with the UK will drop to nothing, but it will shrink considerably over the next few years.

Just from a personal perspective, with the whole head melter of customs charges, I made a decision to try buy Irish more often a while back. Then I realized why we've all been buying cheap stuff from amazon uk etc - because buying Irish sadly means paying a premium on even the most basic of everyday items. (that's assuming you can even get what you're looking for). So I went looking for deals from other eu countries, and you can definitely see that they are starting to respond to this increased demand. Like you say, might not be a bad thing in the long run for us. And we'll be less dependent on the uk market.

I do still think the UK will rise to the challenges and find a way to stay competitive. But it won't happen overnight. In the long run, whether they'll be better or worse off outside the eu is very hard to predict. It really could be 15-20 years time before you could really fully analyze such a massive decision.

bucketybuck

We can save the OP as a template for when Ireland finally recognises that it has the exact same problem with HGV drivers.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944207#Comment_117944207

We are using Amazon.de more

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944369#Comment_117944369

heard .de prime is no where near as good as .co.uk prime, what do you think?

The Raging Bile Duct

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Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942391#Comment_117942391

There's something to that Seth, but there is one major difference between Irish and British voters when it comes to something like this. The Irish electorate and government and civil service are used to referendums. We have them on the regular and with each one there is more debate and every household in the country gets a pretty independent missive from the government about what the referendum means and what a no or yes vote means with it. The British are quite different. They've only had two referendums in their history; one to vote on joining Europe, one to vote on remain/leave.

We're also a much more centrist, be grand electorate, whereas there is much more of a Left/Right thing going on in the UK. There's also a bigger gap between richer and poorer and along geographic lines. We are not an ex down at heels imperial power either. Nor do we have the hot potato of immigration/multiculturalism that Britain has. We also see Europe as a positive for the most part and we're exposed to it far more. "Partially funded by the EU" is something Irish people are used to seeing, British people aren't. Even though the EU funded quite a lot of British infrastructure and schemes. A while back I was watching a British car youtube channel where the guy was driving an electric car around a London ring road and he stopped at a charging station where the chargers had "funded by the EU" written on them and there was puzzlement going on. Well if he was driving the same route today he wouldn't be able to charge his car on the EU ticket and the way things are going if he were driving a petrol car...

I was over in England for a funeral the year before the brexit vote and chatting with locals I was surprised how very little they knew about the EU and how little they had considered the whole thing. This was both in leave and remain people too. The remain people were as much about don't rock the boat and leave things alone as they were about the EU itself. Something like how Northern Ireland would, or the Union itself might be affected was pretty much on nobody's radar. The immigration thing I couldn't fathom, especially for those who were voting on the more racist side. EU migration is overwhelmingly of the pale faced European variety, whereas non palefaces were for the most part coming from Britain's ex empire and leaving wouldn't change that.

The Raging Bile Duct

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quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942794#Comment_117942794

Yeah you're right, in fairness Jacob Rees Mogg did say they'd start seeing benefits in about 50 years, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

Timing belt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944142#Comment_117944142

For organic Irish business the UK market is the largest... the stat's that say that the uk is no longer our primary trade partner are skewed by the large multinationals. e.g. The US is our largest export partner with 31% of exports.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942794#Comment_117942794

8% and falling as supply chains diversify. It's getting close to a "they need us more than we need them"

The UK economy will suffer death by a thousand cuts. They won't starve but the economy will fall behind others.

BTW it wasn't a democratic election. They used every trick in the book to trigger an economic collapse so they could pick over the carcass.

It was a non-binding referendum for a parliament that isn't bound by decisions of previous ones. Had it been binding a lot of the things leave did and said would be illegal. Leave were also allowed to change the wording from yes/no. Cameron set it at 50% +1 , which may lead to the UK splitting as NI and Scotland leave. Cameron didn't use the Wisdom of Solomon to ask the people "what sort of Brexit do you want" and let the factions rip each other apart. May's red lines and triggering Article 50 meant the UK jumped without a parachute. Then Boris and the shenanigans where they used every loophole to by pass democracy ?

Shao Kahn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117948033#Comment_117948033

More "whataboutery" from people who cannot accept the result of a democratic vote.

Look, I'm not pro or anti Brexit. In so far as, the British people are free to choose whatever they want. And they did choose - they went into polling stations and they decided to leave. It's done. And now they get on with living their lives outside the EU - which btw is not the big giant black hole of despair that anti-Brexit mouthpieces want everyone to believe. There are plenty of nations doing perfectly fine who are not members of the EU - even within Europe.

I actually happen to believe that it's perfectly possible to be a healthy and prosperous nation both inside or outside the EU. It really all depends on how the UK runs it's affairs post Brexit.

As regards how the referendum was carried out, I'm not a fan - it was a giant sh!tshow from start to finish. Both the remain and leave campaigns tried to cover each other in as much dirt as possible. And it just so happens that the leave campaign managed to crawl out of that river of excrement and emerge as the winners. Brexit showed all the darkest and dirtiest tricks in modern day politics, from both sides. And also a shocking absence of true leadership skills, from a country that actually is meant to be one of the world leaders. (you shouldn't be allowed to have a nuclear arsenal as a nation, if you cannot find even one person with leadership skills in your entire political system)

But I digress,

The reality is that most people are not politically engaged. And I don't blame them really, when you look at how ugly and divisive politics can be. (and the rest of the time mind numbingly boring) Why would the average punter want that BS in their head 24/7?

So yeah, the side that was always going to win was the one that could distill their argument into the most basic of messages for what was very often single issue voters or voters with a very narrow band of concerns. The remain campaign did a terrible job of this. I don't even think the leave campaign did a great job, they just did a slightly less awful job - and like I said, they were merely the last man standing in a giant pile of excrement at the end.

And unfortunately, I think the whole Brexit fiasco will make many average people even less likely to engage with politics in the future. People are sick of how politics are run, and sick of spineless politicians. And I hate all this high-horse stuff from Irish people, like we are somehow immune from having our own political debacle akin to Brexit - don't be so arrogant / overconfident. We are plagued by just as many useless plebs holding public office as the Brits. It's more pot luck than skill, that our "leaders" haven't put the ship on the rocks yet. But they are well capable.

Politicians don't run countries. Hard working people run a country. Which is why - in spite of useless leadership - the UK still has a chance of being a success post Brexit. Rubbish politicians just make things more complicated, but not impossible.

Hotblack Desiato

'Both sides' my hole.

Rampant illegal funding of the Leave campaign and dirty tricks. Cambridge Analytica etc. Billionaires using the DUP as a conduit to put ads in London newspapers.

But you come on with this 'both sides' nonsense

Trumpian guff.

Then there's the "getting what they voted for" thing.

Many didn't vote at all and now greatly regret that (tough!)

Many voted Leave as a protest and didn't actually want to leave. This is a hangover of the first past the post electoral system which creates "safe seats" and disenfranchises millions of voters.

Many took the reassurances from Leave that "nobody is talking about leaving the single market" "easiest negotiation ever" etc. etc. at face value.

Nobody in their right mind actually votes to make their country poorer and more backward. They were sold a pup.

Cameron deserves huge blame though and he will always be remembered as one of the worst PMs ever (although Boris is doing his best to compete for that crown...) Never, ever call a referendum on an important issue unless you are certain of winning. Especially one where you have no idea what will happen if you lose, and the whole country then takes a massive leap into the unknown.

Ultimately he called the referendum because he didn't have the balls to stand up to a fringe within his own party, call their bluff and let them feck off to join UKIP. UKIP would have remained a fringe bunch with a handful of seats at the very most. Despite all their bluster and winning some MEP seats (treated by most as a protest vote) they never once won a Westminster seat. You'd think a party whose raison d'etre was a single issue supposedly with 52% support would have done a lot better than that...!

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117950526#Comment_117950526

It would be libellous to suggest that UKIP couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. It was the City of London Distillery or rather it wasn't because they couldn't organise a piss up.

Nigel Farage finishing behind Flipper the Dolphin in a constituency where none of the main parties stood ? Never gets old.

Boris is a bit better at being chummy to the voters than Nigel which is why the love-bombing, that and it gets him into the media.

Brexit is the collateral damage for killing off a rival party. The Liberal Democrats need to become relevant or they'll go next.

The DUP used to be handy for 10 votes (for a billion) but the latest revision of the constituencies means that Wales loses 8 MPs and Scotland looses 2 which means England gets 10 new MPs. DUP shafted May, revenge will be served very cold.

Maggie had the Falklands war, Bonar Law stirred up Ulster. If Scotland leaves then there's 40 or 50 SNP MPs who won't vote against Boris again.

malinheader

I can't believe what I'm reading, really it's unbelievable. Making it easier and skimping on proper training for lorry drivers is mental but lorry drivers that will be carrying flammable liquids. Most mental thing I have ever heard.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942349#Comment_117942349

At least their laws are nolonger being made in Germany!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeQ8MVpN7Ts

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117951242#Comment_117951242

Very short sighted response as it could end up having implications for the recognition and / or transferability of UK HGV driving licences in the EU and even wider.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117951479#Comment_117951479

Exactly. "Did you pass your test in 2021? Oh you did? OK, well we'd like to offer you the job but you'll have to sit and pass our course and exam before you can drive for us. Yes of course you have to pay for that yourself"

BobHopeless

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117948113#Comment_117948113

Brilliant post

malinheader

Ireland has a big shortage of lorry drivers too. We won't be able to blame Brexit. Wages, conditions over regulation and massive money for anyone to try and get a hgv licence all a factor

It's a gift to the EU any country thinking of saber-rattling about leaving silenced in one fell swoop.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117951614#Comment_117951614

Shortage yes, but far from crisis point. Plus we can advertise jobs for drivers in Europe and get interested parties. Not be told to feck off because the Visa would only be for 3 months.

malinheader

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117951680#Comment_117951680

I think its time we started to address the problems in the industry instead of relying to look to Europe for drivers.

Alot of our foreign drivers went home because of the poor conditions and pay. If we don't soon start to address our own problems we will end up in the same situation as the UK. Just look at the average age of the lorry drivers 55 0r 56 if I can remember.

Having to bring in drivers from other countries if needed is not resolving the problems within the sector.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117952060#Comment_117952060

We really need to start addressing alot of things and not just in that one sector. I work in IT, nice warm cushy offices and some cushy salaries, and even I know europeans who have gone home. Why? Accommodation costs are out of control. Thats the most important thing and the first thing most people pay when they get paid. If over half your income is going on a fleapit or a nicer place but its flipping miles away from work, but you had the opportunity to go home to the continent, what would be stopping you? I mention accommodation because it affects everyone from truck drivers to programmers, and we are losing talent and skills because of it.

Increasing the average salary of truck drivers seems like a good idea, but on a country wide scale it's a double edge sword, because thats adds to the cost of transporting things, which increases inflation because prices rise on everything.

Conditions and infrastructure needs to be improved. The number of decent truck stops in the country is about 13, when really a driver should never be more than about 20 minutes from a good one. A lay by with room for 2 trucks and no running water is not a truck stop.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117951264#Comment_117951264

Took me a while to realise that wasn't a comedy sketch

ancapailldorcha

Little England needs to realize that it needs to sleep in the bed it so enthusiastically made for itself. Anyone who's gone through the rigmarole of getting the certs and relevant paperwork to drive a HGV will know that while there's a shortage across Europe, it's both more pronounced in the UK and will involve countless hours waiting at checkpoints there. But hey, Johnny racist now no longer needs to suffer under EU laws he can't name.

Somehow, I don't think the offer of "We hate you but come over to drive lorries so long as you f*ck off by Christmas Eve" is going to prove enticing.

Feisar

Does Tommy Shlug have the HGV licence? He might be able to give a pull out if he gets out of Afghanistan.

stoneill

There is no shortage of petrol, they are just queueing up for Happy British Petrol, now that they got rid of the Nameless Bureaucratic Brussels Petrol that was forced upon them..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117953164#Comment_117953164

Look up James O'Brien of LBC radio on YouTube. He put a question to his listeners "Why did you vote to leave the EU?". Some of the answers he gets... well. You'll see.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117953164#Comment_117953164

There are no Brexit comedy sketches.

The Raging Bile Duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954793#Comment_117954793

Au contraire...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jC0n-93pfU

ancapailldorcha

https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1443200821680869382

Sigh.