DON'T PANIC!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had the words "DON'T PANIC" inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover. Maybe our current government should have read it? Unfortunately, these class one idiots have told the nation to panic, and panic now, and created, for many people, a large amount of unnecessary stress and inconvenience. The reason behind this actually rather hard to fathom. The trade union Unite, which represents fuel tanker drivers has balloted for a strike to try and force the drivers' employers into arbitration on a variety of grievances regarding their working conditions. This is just a run of the mill industrial dispute, in which both sides are negotiating, and is well within both the letter and spirit of the law. If Unite were to call a strike, they would have to give 7 days notice and it may cause some minor disruption for a few days but nothing that couldn't be managed. So what were our government ministers dreaming of?

The problem with disruptions to fuel supplies is that there is form on this. Panic buying fuel is illogical - until everyone else does it in which case it becomes highly logical. It's basic game theory. Unfortunately, with the balance between supply and demand on a just-in-time basis the public can be a tad jittery. We had a case of this a few years ago when there was industrial action at the big INEOS refinery at Grangemouth. This produces fuel for most of Scotland. However, when the strike at the plant did actually go ahead there were no serious shortages in Scotland - but there were in England. As far as I can tell, the main reason behind this was a big gesture by Alex Salmond, the First Minister, who used his media savvy by pointing out that major supplies of fuel were being sent from Europe. The response from the UK government was not as charismatic. The announcement to put people's minds at rest came from the business secretary rather than the Prime Minister and, whilst what he said was perfectly reasonable, it didn't give the public as much confidence and panic buying, in some areas, ensued.

The current government's approach is incredible: Francis Maude told drivers that they should not only rush out and fill their vehicles but also stock up with "a little bit in their garage as well in a jerry can". It's mindlessly stupid advice. Not only did he effectively say, "PANIC! PANIC! WE ARE ALL DOOMED! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" but he also encouraged a very unsafe practice in stockpiling large amounts of flammable liquid. Given the riots that took place last year I would have thought that the last thing a minister should be doing is to encourage the storing of one of the main ingredients of a Molotov cocktail.

For what it's worth, I haven't seen much in the way of queuing at petrol stations in Scotland. Maybe this is still the Salmond factor? Unfortunately, I am planning on travelling down to North-West England this weekend and I have heard from several people that they have struggled to find fuel on sale (or not without a huge queue of cars outside). As it is, I easily have enough fuel to get down but not enough to get all the way back up. Given that the union bosses have been emphasising that they are not imminently going on strike I am hoping that things will have calmed down by the middle of the week.

As for the current government, I didn't think my opinion of them could sink any lower - but they are surpassing themselves. I don't have to agree with the policies of a politician to have respect for them but I do have to believe that they are trying to do their best for the country. I thought the previous administration were incompetent but, once stripped of the veneer of an expensive private education, the current crowd don't just appear to be very bright at all.