I got up at just after 6am this morning to buy some fuel, only to find my nearest garage had closed for a refurb FFS. Decided then to wait until after the rush hour on my day off to find the queue at Sainsbury 1/4 mile long and 4 other garages with no fuel. Didn’t need the damn fuel especially but I do now after wasting an hour driving around. **** Tory ****

The people still queueing today probably don’t listen or look at the news. It figures.

Hora – The people still queuing today probably have a coagulated mass of mushy peas between their ears

Didn’t need the damn fuel especially

Dare I ask why you went out then?

With forecourts closing because of a lack of fuel, if one wanted to have the biggest impact, surely now would be the time to strike

when are the easter holidays starting? will there be more people than normal trying to fill up before making long journeys away with the kids/away from the kids?

With forecourts closing because of a lack of fuel, if one wanted to have the biggest impact, surely now would be the time to strike

Are you one of the ones who thinks they’re likely to strike tomorrow?

I suppose its not great PR for the Union to deliberatey mess up the general public’s holiday plans instead of any given commercial monday.

With forecourts and roads blocked by queues, no tankers can get through anyway.

Didn’t need the damn fuel especially but I do now after wasting an hour driving around.

Didn’t need the damn fuel especially but I do now after wasting an hour driving around.

that is a fantastically amazing admission right there.

11 pages of talk about the subject, and you chip in with that. i presume you are related to the woman that set herself on fire yeh?

Is the fuel strike over now?

The tanker drivers probably won’t need to strike now, due to all the extra overtime they’re doing because of the panic buying. 😯

Is this the imaginary strike?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17558294

Didn’t need the damn fuel especially but I do now after wasting an hour driving around.

*stands back and applauds loudly*

Thing is, there’s also a level of human nature in it – the Tories have proved that if you treat the Sheeple like adults and say “This is the situation, there’s a threat to strike, use some common sense, act normally but and fill up when you get the chance” then the arseholes of the world descend into chaos.

Sorry zulu, but I would credit any government responsible for running our country with enough intelligence to remember last time and instead turn to the fuel companies and the unions to be considerate in their negociations before creating this situation two weeks before the time when there may be a strike. I use the word ‘creating’ quite deliberately.

They KNOW people on the whole are sheeple-ish enough to do this because such a similar thing happened so recently, and so they have knowingly brought about the effects of a tanker strike without the tanker drivers even having to ballot, go on strike and miss a days pay. (slow clap) Profiteering with 7+ pence per litre rises helps no one but the fuel companies and their shareholders.

But what do I know, I do maybe 6k a year in a car and ride a bicycle to work. But even the right wing papers are merrily reporting this as another disaster, alongside quotes from AA etc spokespersons about how foolish the government have been in this.

Sorry but this still stinks to high heaven of:

1) ‘manipulation’ the April figures. (there just will be another story to distract for the next lot of figures, who cares about then?)

2) “FFS let’s do anything to take the public’s mind off the Peter Cruddas Story”.

I wonder how this will all be remembered in a year’s time?

aye no fuel round here – well not diesel would it have been better to panic rather than to take the sensible approach [ was it sensible now?]
Will need some on Monday

To make it even worse the greetings card delivery men are definitely going on strike in sympathy with the jewellery delivery men.
So anyone in the Epsom area can come and panic buy in my shop.
Thank you.

would it have been better to panic rather than to take the sensible approach [ was it sensible now?]
Will need some on Monday

You should be OK by then I’d have thought. The sensible thing in such a situation is to panic if you do actually need the fuel (and not panic if you don’t). Clearly anybody who would need to fill up anyway and is stuck in a queue isn’t actually an idiot.

Going back to our earlier discussion about phones on forecourts:

Angry motorist threatening to use mobile on forecourt

aracer – Member
Are you one of the ones who thinks they’re likely to strike tomorrow?

No, because i’m not an idiot.

Here you go. If your Manchester-based and this happens again just to pop down to here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=trafford+park+petrol+station&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=petrol+station&hnear=0x487bae0d9b905243:0xd5ce06bdd0c21068,Trafford+Park&cid=0,0,5526645906592763603&ei=xrZ1T4zoN-XF0QWu35yzDQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CAoQ_BI

I’m assuming by Monday when I need the petrol all this fuss will have died down?

No queue at the Morrisons down the road, lonely woman in fluro vest hoping for traffic to direct. Now sorted for the next 2 weeks.

I’ve been panic drinking tea all day at work as the milkman hasn’t been and we’re running very short of milk.

I filled up my car yesterday. Anyone want to swap a pint of milk for a pint of petrol?

😆

Ironically when I filled the bike this morning I popped in the gas station shop for Soy Milk, the fridge looked like locusts had been through and all I could get was blue top cows milk. Have the milk tanker drivers gone on stike in sympathy ??

Lets start that rumor anyway, just for a laff. See how long it takes to go viral, and some poor woman sets her cat on fire.

glitchy thread thingy ?

I’ve been panic drinking tea all day at work as the milkman hasn’t been and we’re running very short of milk.

I’ve filled up an entire cow with petrol neatly solving both issues at a stroke.

Coyote – Member

Oh look!

Was it all for nothing…

Well no. Yes, it was a stupid, crass, and unnecessary, but it was also a deliberate political stunt which those responsible for appear to be rather pleased with the results.

“But Maude will claim that his strategy of intensifying pressure on the Unite union, which is threatening to hold a fuel tanker strike by 23 April, will have paid off if industrial action is averted.

There were signs last night that talks between Unite and the employers, under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas, could begin on Monday.”[/i]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/mar/29/francis-maude-panic-buying-petrol?newsfeed=true

So you cause chaos by alarming people of a possible union strike a couple of weeks ahead, people panic, buy fuel unnecessarily, which causes shortages, and then people like PeterPoddy dutifully work themselves up into a frenzy of indignation and denounce the unions. The unions are taken aback by the public reaction, and if it all goes according to script, become somewhat more amiable to the demands of the employers.

Job done. And altogether a worthwhile exercise (plus of course it keeps embarrassing headlines concerning granny taxes, pasty taxes, tax breaks for the super-rich, and NHS privatisation, off the front pages, but that’s surely just a happy coincidence)

Except of course for the staggering irony of it all. Ministers have through their actions deliberately created a shortage of fuel which has caused chaos, purely to satisfy their own agenda and achieve their aims – the very thing which they have denounced and vilify the unions for attempting to do.

In other words, “it is morally justified for us to cause fuel shortages and chaos, just as long as we achieve what we want to achieve, but trade unions must never be allowed to use those same identical tactics, to achieve their aims”. Breathtaking hypocrisy which complete flies over the heads of the hopelessly gullible and naive.

And if anyone doubts that this was a deliberate strategy to instill panic, then just look at Francis Maude’s jerrycan suggestion. Hardly no one owns 20 litre jerrycans, quite a few people like myself own 5 litre petrol cans. Me filling up my 5 litre can is not a “sensible precaution” as suggested by Maude – it’s a **** stupid precaution. Because if I ran out of fuel due to a tanker drivers strike, 5 **** litres ain’t gonna **** help me.

So is Francis Maude, the Corpus Christi educated barrister, Minister for the Cabinet Office, and Paymaster General, just really really thick and stupid ? No of course he isn’t, he knew damn well that urging people to fill up jerrycans would achieve nothing at all, other than cause concern and panic.

Plenty of fuel now on the wirral,just waiting for Morrisons to have a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE GALLON FREE OFFER,

The only thing you missed there ernie was the happy coincidence of getting some more receipts in the coffers this quarter/FY.

Except of course for the staggering irony of it all. Ministers have through their actions deliberately created a shortage of fuel which has caused chaos, purely to satisfy their own agenda and achieve their aims – the very thing which they have denounced and vilify the unions for attempting to do.

Much as I agree with that in general (and the rest of what you say), to be fair it’s not quite the same, as those of us who don’t need fuel until next week can just sit back and laugh at it all (apologies to anybody who does need fuel and is stuck in a queue – I’m not laughing at you).

Great post Ernie.

Imagine the resentment there will be if the papers really take hold of the angle of: “hey queueing/fighting motorists, it’s the government’s fault after all”. Perhaps predictably, the Sun is already going for it. 😈

The only thing you missed there ernie was the happy coincidence of getting some more receipts in the coffers this quarter/FY.

Well no, they might be getting it earlier, but that’s all – people won’t be driving more/using more.

What I did miss, was the disastrous effect this ploy has had on the petrol retailers – because the post was already very long, I was tired, and wanted a coffee.

But don’t blame them too much if they put up their forecourt prices – they stand to lose a lot of money as a result of this government’s stunt.

Many of them have shops/supermarkets attached to them, so if they have to close because they have sold out of fuel then they will also lose profit from their shops. Also by the time they restock with fuel it is very likely that potential customers will be driving around with full tanks, again not just a drip in revenue from no fuel sales, but also from no shop sales. And staff will need to be paid. All in all a disaster for them. Hence they ain’t too happy with Maude’s big mouth.

not a queue tonight anywhere round here.

Pasty and pie sellers strikeing next week due to the imposition of the 20 p VAT on hot or above ambient temperature pies and pasties.

TBH Project there was no queue at Prenton Sainsburys garage yesterday @ 6pm yesterday, I was down to 20 miles in the tank so was surprised at the deserted roads and empty garage £90 later I have enough fuel for the next 3 weeks 🙂

Funny thing was the night before on our evening ride they were queuing for 1/4 mile @ the Shell garage near the Hinderton Arms, many people were also filling up to 6 cans in the boot 😮

What I did miss, was the disastrous effect this ploy has had on the petrol retailers

One station nearby had put it’s prices up by about 2p since Monday. That’s when I went this morning. Drove past again this evening and they have gone up by 1p per litre on both unleaded and diesel. Seems like the retailers are making the proverbial hay whilst the metaphorical sun is shining…

It’s pretty self defeating. Supermarket store manager here was going to shut down the petrol station not because it was out of fuel, far from it, because the queues were preventing shoppers getting into the store. They don’t make much profit, if anything, from selling petrol.

And now for utter madness: Jam jars, Paint tins and Fairy liquid bottles

Just walked past two of my regular filling stations (this is in Blackpool, BTW) at about 10pm.

One is coned-off and closed to all except Emergency Services, while the other has a man in a fluoro jacket standing at the entrance, and only letting another vehicle onto the already-rammed forecourt when one has left.

😕

Ive been refusing to panic buy. Would have filled up tonight but not a drop to be had, I’ll get (near) to work tomorrow, but I wont get home so fingers crossed theres a delivery.