John Redwood has been a Conservative MP since 1987 and served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher’s government. He was an early supporter of Brexit and was a member of the pressure group Leave Means Leave.
Hardcore Thatcherite MP John Redwood shocked social media on Thursday, 26 August, when he suddenly backed the Unite trade union’s calls for employers to raise wages in order to recruit more lorry drivers.
A shortage of truckers in Britain has hit factories, supermarkets and fast food restaurants with chains like McDonald’s, Nando’s, KFC and Waitrose running out of certain items because of problems with deliveries.
Unite estimates there is a shortage of around 75,000 drivers in Britain and says only higher wages will attract young people to an industry which involves hard work, long hours and a great deal of time spent away from family and friends.
Redwood, 70, has been an opponent of trade unions and collective bargaining for decades but his tweet suggested he realised the market was simply not working when it came to the haulage industry and the only answer was better pay.
The MP’s comments saw him trending on Twitter, with many Labour supporters claiming he was a hypocrite after years of opposing pay rises for train drivers, social workers and other workers.
Supermarket chains Tesco and Iceland have warned that if nothing is done there could be serious shortages of key foods in the run up to Christmas.
Brexit and the pandemic have given the industry a double whammy as many EU nationals chose to return to their home countries or moved to France, Ireland or Germany.
He called for lorry drivers who were EU citizens to be given short-term visas in order for them to be able to work for UK-based haulage firms.
Iceland chief executive Richard Walker, who said he thought Britain needed 100,000 more truck drivers, told the BBC: “The reason for sounding the alarm now is that we’ve already had one Christmas cancelled at the last minute.”
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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