Brexit 'to blame' for lorry driver shortage says Dr Shola

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Retailers and suppliers across the country have been hit shortages in recent weeks due to worker shortages sparked by Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. Shortages of everyday products have been reported in some of Britain’s most well-known chains, including McDonalds, Subway, Nando’s and major supermarkets.

McDonalds ran out of milkshakes and bottled drinks in most UK stores this week due to ongoing supply problems.

Nando’s was also forced to close almost 50 restaurants because of reduced chicken supplies.

But the problems don’t appear to be stopping for the UK’s suppliers, with issues now expected to last until Christmas.

Tesco chairman John Allan, who has overseen the country’s largest grocer since 2015, said the UK is likely facing shortages during the Christmas period this year.

He said: “We are very short of drivers, it’s a combination of many EU drivers having decided to go home and also the ageing age profile.

“I think certainly Brexit has been a contributor to that but also improving economies, higher wages in some of the countries that they’ve come from historically, have also led to that flow.

“At the moment we’re running very hard just to keep on top of the existing demand and there isn’t the capacity to build stocks that we’d like to see.

“I think there may be some shortages at Christmas.

“But I wouldn’t want to overdramatise the extent to which that would be the case.”

Steve Murrells, chief executive of the Co-operative Group, warned current food shortages are at a “worse level” than he has ever seen, with the company having to reduce product range to help serve customers.

He told the Times: “The shortages are at a worse level than at any time I have seen.”

Mr Murrells said the disruption to supply has been driven by “Brexit and issues caused by Covid”, and the firm is retraining staff as lorry drivers to help fill a large number of vacant roles.

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Road haulage bosses have said there is a shortfall of around 100,000 drivers currently.

This is partly caused by the exit from the UK during the pandemic of thousands of EU drivers who have not yet returned.

A Government spokesperson said: “We have a highly resilient food supply chain.

“We have well-established ways of working with the food sector and are working closely with them to ensure businesses have the labour they need.

“We have put in place a package of measures to tackle the HGV driver shortage.

“Additionally, our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work.

“As part of this, we are streamlining the process for people to get their HGV licence.”

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