Fuel crisis: Boris Johnson admitted UK actions could last until Christmas

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reluctantly admitted today that the UK’s shortage problems could last until Christmas, but reiterated he would not resort to “runaway immigration” to solve them.

In an interview with the BBC, Johnson was defensive to questions from one of the public network’s most curious interviewers, Andrew Marr, and tried to escape unscathed the day the Conservative Party opens. its annual congress in Manchester (northern England).

Asked about certain statements by the Minister of the Economy, Rishi Sunak, in which he did not exclude that the supply crisis does not reach Christmas, the Prime Minister replied: “Rishi is always right in what he says. .

For Johnson, the woes suffered by the UK economy, which threaten to eclipse Congress, respond to the post-Brexit “adjustment period” in the labor market and the rapid post-pandemic recovery.

“What we are seeing are the pressures and strains on an economy that is the fastest growing of the G7 countries,” Johnson has repeatedly insisted on removing iron from crises in various sectors.

LACK OF MANPOWER

The shortage has been seen with particular force in recent days in gas stations across the country, which not getting fuel due to lack of truckers, but there is also a shortage of food in supermarkets.

The lack of manpower who previously came from other countries of the European Union is also at the origin of the concern of pastoralists, who could be forced to slaughter tens of thousands of animals due to labor shortages in slaughterhouses.

Johnson defended his country’s exit from the EU as a means, precisely, of not having recourse to low-wage workers and thus forcing companies to better pay their employees.

“The way forward is not to pull the lever on runaway immigration and allow large numbers of people to enter,” Johnson said, alluding to the strict restrictions in place for EU citizens to get a UK work visa.

“For decades we have depended on hard workers who came mainly from the enlarged EU countries, who were willing to do these jobs for low pay and that is why now they are not attractive,” he said. he added.

The Prime Minister insisted that the specific problem of gas stations is due to the increase in demand due to the “pull effect” that the fuel shortage has caused among drivers, and He recalled that the shortage of truckers affects other countries such as the United States, China and Poland.

MORE TAX INCREASE

The “conservative” leader also had to answer for his decision to increase social contributions to finance public health, which he had completely excluded in his electoral program.

He argued that he had to deal with a pandemic – “a fiscal meteorite”, he defined – which forced the state to make an unprecedented effort to allocate 407,000 million pounds (550,713 million dollars) and was therefore “forced” to act. you wouldn’t have wanted.

“I don’t want to raise more taxes”Johnson said, not ruling out that he could do so if state coffers need it to pay off the huge debt accumulated by the pandemic.

“There is no greater opponent than me against unnecessary taxes, but we have had to face a pandemic,” he added.

The prime minister also defended that wages were increasing at an unprecedented rate, which the investigator also questioned recalling that the National Statistics Office had warned that during the last quarter, inflation had increased more than wages, which leads to a loss of purchasing power.

Johnson will close the “conservative” congress with the classic speech to activism next Wednesday, where he is expected to detail his plans to “rebalance” the country, the focus of the second part of his term that he wants to make his biggest weapon. to consolidate the advances of his party in the north of England.

(with information from the EFE)

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