Steve McGookinPanic Stations
The government could decide on Monday to deploy the Army to carry out petrol deliveries after this week saw widespread panic-buying amid supply problems at forecourts across Britain. BP said on Sunday that a third of its stations in Britain had run out.
The shortage of HGV drivers is also affecting the supply chain for food and other commodities and a contingency plan – Operation Escalin – originally devised in the event of a no-deal Brexit, could be a way to alleviate some of the most urgent pressure.
A temporary visa scheme has also been proposed to encourage drivers and agricultural workers to come to Britain in the run-up to Christmas, but on top of expected increases in energy costs and a reduction in help for the poorest members of what still passes for a society, there are warnings the country could be heading for a “winter of discontent”.
And there appears to be no immediate sign that things won’t get worse before they get better.
In Northern Ireland, we’re being affected somewhat differently for now, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some real problems.
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Climate urgency ramps up ahead of COP26
At the United Nations this week, world leaders again said it was time for the world to both “grow up” and “wake up”. But it remains to be seen whether they can actually shake themselves out of their dreamlike state.
Meanwhile President Biden’s infrastructure deal, with its associated climate provisions, faces another tricky week in Congress.
See Also
Broadcasting as usual as the planet burns: Media coverage of climate breakdown
World gets yet another climate wake-up call
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Pressure builds over Covid vaccine equity
Regardless of the infection of members of the Brazilian traveling party at the United Nations this week, there were calls for action on greater vaccine equity worldwide.
Meanwhile school communities across the globe continue to wrestle with finding the appropriate measures to best protect students and teachers.
Yet hard-core anti-vaccine activism persists, highlighted close to home this week by the tragic case of Joe McCarron.
British Army medics are set to be deployed to Northern Ireland in coming days to assist local hospital staff. Troops also began driving ambulances in Scotland this week.
See Also
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As voucher scheme begins, frustrating political circus continues
Northern Ireland’s £100 high street voucher scheme launched on Monday morning and there were already signs that demand had affected the system’s responsiveness.
In local politics, despite growing evidence of the initial practical benefits of the Protocol on everyday life here compared to Britain, rhetoric and protest against it inevitably continues.
As the Labour party conference opened in Brighton, the Tories – yes, the government responsible for pretty much most of this week’s newsletter – continue to sit on a comfortable opinion poll lead.
But opposition leader Keir Starmer’s attempt to capture the policy agenda was overshadowed by his deputy leader Angela Rayner and she was hardly alone in making intemperate remaks.
Finally, former diplomat Jonathan Powell didn’t hold back in his review of Michel Barnier’s new book.
See Also:
The protocol: Where we are now and where does NI go from here?
Seismic Assembly election on the horizon
A new Ireland: Deepening the peace process must be the goal
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Germany takes first step into post-Merkel era
Initial results in Germany’s election on Sunday showed the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) with a narrow lead over the Christian Democratic Union of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Greens picked up around 15% of the vote in the country’s tightest election for years, while support for extremist parties appeared to have declined. The country now enters a period of coalition-building that could last weeks or even months, while Chancellor Merkel remains in office as a caretaker.
The election brings down the curtain on a remarkable political career at a time of upheaval in Europe and a changed transatlantic relationship.
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See Also Last Week’s Five Points:
Also published on Medium.