posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 06:42 AM
As all of the UK members will be aware, 90% of the fuel tanker drivers may be about to go on strike causing mass disruption across the country. There
is a lot of talk on the news about contingencies and the 'rights and wrongs' of both sides of the dispute, but I have noticed that there are several
'elephants in the room' that no one is mentioning, yet they seem clear as day to me.
1. The tanker drivers have a dispute about pay and conditions. They won't get much sympathy from the public on this as they are already well paid and
unemployment is very high. BUT fuel prices, and in particular the obscene level of tax here in the UK, are a very sore issue for most people. If
haulage companies, farmers and even regular motorists get their act together and use this opportunity to make the protests about much wider fuel
issues, like what happened in 2000, then this could snowball.
2. If what I suggested in point 1 happens then it has the potential to be much bigger than the protests in 2000 for several reasons; the price of fuel
is about twice what it was in 2000, unemployment is higher and the economy much weaker, tax is higher in general, there is much more anger towards the
government in general (whether justified or not is irrelevant), and the big one is that in 2000 many people still did not have mobile phones, and
there certainly wasn't anything like BlackBerry Messenger, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter etc. Panic, rumours and coordinated plans can spread much
faster now.
3. As shown in the major, nation-wide riots of last year, there is an anger and resentment bubbling just below the surface across the UK, especially
with the young. Much of this anger is aimed at the older generations (again, whether it is justified or not is irrelevant), and I have thought since
the riots happened that if there is any window of obvious opportunity that presents itself then the violence and disorder can quickly spread again.
Everyone saw how inept the police were at dealing with the disorder - they only regained control of London with police from 27 different forces! If
police are busy guarding fuel supplies and trying to keep essential services running in a fuel strike then they will be quite obviously powerless to
even attempt to stop a repeat of the 2011 riots. In my opinion the 2011 riots nearly reached critical mass - if they had gone on a few days more they
would have been unstoppable. If fuel supplies are cut then supermarkets will run out of food etc, then we will see, out of desperation, a lot more
people (and people of a different social class) looting, this will then give a further green light for the type of rioters seen in 2011 - it will act
as a catalyst and become much worse.
4. The government keep saying they will use military tanker drivers to fill in for the strikers, but if you work it out then the military drivers,
even at a stretch will only be able to deliver 15-20% of the supplies needed - and that is assuming there is no wider protest and no general civil
disorder. Either way it won't be anywhere near enough so panic will ensue - this in itself again creates a tempting situation for the simmering
potential rioters.
5. My own girlfriend is a carer. She is one of many thousands who look after old and disabled people in their homes daily - she couldn't do it
without a car (they only have 5 minutes between each call to get to the next place, which are often miles away). I'm pretty sure that she won't be
classed as 'essential services' but in effect she is. How are the government planning to address this? Simple - they aren't. The results of this
kind of thing will be obvious - Britain has an ageing population, in my street alone several homes rely on multiple daily visits from carers. The lack
of plans for this will create a sense of anarchy and powerlessness of the government - again a catalyst for social disorder.
In conclusion I would say that the UK today, like so many other developed nations, is a tinder box. We saw it plainly here last year - it was actually
scary. Anyone who denies this is living with their heads in the sand. Now, given this situation, plus the fragility of our economy and infrastructure,
and the totally obvious inability of our law enforcement to deal with civil disorder of any decent scale, and the conclusions are frightening. ANY
even that can disrupt the fragile veneer of normality has the potential to throw us into a state of anarchy. Furthermore I would add that when a state
of anarchy is reached, as was so nearly last year, then getting order back will be near enough impossible. There are so many people who are completely
disenfranchised for a multitude of reasons, and so many people who are failing to understand it and who flaunt their wealth in their faces. It is just
going to take a leader, or a number of leaders to emerge in those disenfranchised groups, leaders who realise that the time to strike is now... and
there will be no stopping it all unravelling.
Interesting times....