London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

UK PM rejects claims Britain is set for a 1970s-style inflationary spiral amid labour shortages & supply chain crisis

UK PM rejects claims Britain is set for a 1970s-style inflationary spiral amid labour shortages & supply chain crisis

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dismissed fears of a 1970s-style inflationary crisis due to labour shortages and a supply chain crisis, arguing that these were expected as part of the post-Covid “stresses and strains.”
Speaking during the Conservative Party’s annual conference, being held in Manchester, Johnson defended his government’s actions amid mounting criticism over the current situation, which has seen fuel stations run dry amid panic buying, and shops across the country with empty shelves, as deliveries are disrupted.

While industry officials have argued that the current problems, caused by staff shortages and supply chain issues, are due to a mixture of Covid and UK’s exit from the EU, the prime minister focused his blame solely on the impact of the global pandemic. Asked what was behind the current issues, Johnson stated it was the “stresses and strains that you'd expect from a giant waking up” post-Covid.

Rejecting the suggestion that the UK could be returning to a 1970s-style situation, where inflation hit 22.6%, Johnson stated, “I don't think that the problem will present itself in that way,” before adding “this country's natural ability to sort out its logistics and supply chains is very strong.”

The UK government has walked back its immigration policy in response to the current problems facing the nation, offering temporary visas for some sectors, including 5,000 delivery drivers, to plug the gaps that exist in industries. However, only 127 applications have been made so far for those visas, according to the government, which the prime minister argued shows this is a “global shortage,” not just an issue facing the UK.

As well as blaming the impact of the pandemic, the PM also criticised the UK road haulage industry for failing to create an attractive market that draws in a new generation of drivers, claiming the lack of investment in better conditions and pay has left young people not wanting to become truck drivers.

The lack of HGV drivers in the UK has forced the government to deploy the army to help petrol stations address a fuel shortage that, at one point, saw 90% of filling stations run dry, with long queues leaving motorists waiting hours to top up their cars. Operation Escalin, a contingency plan established to provide fuel in the event of shortages, is underway, with 200 service members having provided fuel on Monday to help forecourt stocks “stabilise.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
×