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The fuel crisis that has left many people without gasoline and emergency services unable to function properly is not a “national emergency,” according to a government adviser.
GMB Union had written to the Department of Transport calling for taxis to be classified as an essential service as the industry – which transports patients to hospitals and children to school – is collapsing under the fuel crisis.
In response, a political adviser said: “We have been informed that at present the government is not implementing fuel prioritization through the National Fuel Emergency Plan as we are not in. a national emergency. ”
From Monday, soldiers will begin delivering fuel to gas stations as ministers now seek to take control of ongoing supply issues.
Senior government sources have confirmed that on Saturday the military will be fully trained to deliver fuel to the forecourt as fuel shortages continue to be felt in several parts of the UK, although the government has claimed that the situation ‘stabilized’.
Mick Rix, national manager of GMB, noted: “The country comes to a standstill; millions can’t get gas, nurses and emergency workers can’t get to patients, and Christmas is halfway through being canceled.
“If it’s not a national emergency, what is it?
“The Conservatives have been in power for 11 years and have done nothing to prevent this crisis. They fell asleep at the wheel.
“Instead of ‘taking back control’, the prime minister is losing control and workers are once again paying the price for his failures.”
Steve McNamara, the general secretary of the Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers (LTDA), has also repeatedly called for taxi drivers to be added to a list of emergency workers to access dwindling fuel stocks. Shortages of diesel and gasoline in and around the capital meant that 25-30% of LTDA members were unable to work during parts of the crisis.
The business leader spoke to BBC Radio 4’s Today program calling on the government to put in place designated emergency plots for essential workers in order to “get the sting out of the crisis”.
McNamara added that “a taxi driver without fuel is unemployed”.
The mayor of London, representatives of licensed taxis and private hire executives have all pressed the government to include the sector in any emergency fuel registry if the fuel crisis worsens.
Speaking on Radio 4, McNamara added that “government policy when it comes to just hoping it goes away is just not realistic.”
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