I was born post war in 1948 and we all had ration cards into the early 1950s. I do remember my dad struggling to get enough petrol coupons at the time of the Suez shenanigans in 1956-he would purchase unwanted coupons from a couple of neighbours as he needed to travel around Kent, Sussex and part of Greater London for his work.
I know you can't compare the situation then with possibly 6 million private vehicles on our roads with the current estimated 36 million private cars etc.
The situation we find ourselves in is the result of decades of asset stripping, sell offs and the cultivation of selfish self seeking attitudes from the top down.
The peak of the British Empire was around the time Victoria died and we have since paid the price of financing 2 catastrophic World wars.
Unfortunately elitism and the old boy network are still very much alive and well in "great?" Britain today and all we are witnessing when we see panic buying and selfish greed is a reflection of the behaviour and attitudes of an inept and fundamentally incapable government -all these selfish hoarders simply copying our leaders behaviour.
Why do we still runour country as we did 100 years ago? We need professionally qualified leaders who understand the importance of security of energy supplies, proper border controls and a benefit/welfare system that requires people to get out of bed when there are jobs to be done.
I am ashamed to be British the way I see things going. I worry for my children and grandchildrens future.
I again agree with most of what you say Dave48.
Although you could argue we were already sliding over the edge long before Victoria died. You could also argue the empire was built on the backs of ordinary working class people, who at the time couldn't even vote, men or women and lined to pockets of the then elite few. You're dead right about we still run a country the same way effectively did 100 yrs ago. The whole system is rigged to protect that elite and keep them in control e.g. rob a bank you get 10 yrs, beat up and rob a old lady, it's a smack on the wrist. Or said rich landlord/corporation doesn't fix/repair your rented housing but you're still paying full rent, you can afford to take them to court and if you do the law is written to protect the landlord.
The future isn't about race in my view, it's about equality between the "haves and have nots".
I do now think the current fuel issue has gone past panic buying, that was happening in the first few days last week. It's now a real storage of fuel at the pumps because the gang who like to call themselves the government, have done absolutely nothing about a something they were told/briefed about by the transport select committee a good while ago. Instead they believe it will all just go away on its own.
The vast majority working people need motor transport to get to work, even if the get a train they have to drive to the station. All the up lift in internet shopping/online supermarket deliveries relies heavily on white van man and the ever growing number of people delivering in their cars, these will types will fill up once a day or every other day.
I know of many people who's daily commute is between 60 and 200 miles, that's a easily a tank of fuel a week, for petrol possibly 2. Remember if you don't get to work you don't get paid in most cases and not everyone is yet back at work post pandemic! Many people are just frighten and doing what they feel they have to to ensure they can get to work, visit a relative they're a career for, hospital appointments you name it all are important to them. All of the above has to be seriously reduced in the very near future and the government are telling us just that, but how, what is being done to stop or reduce all these journeys?............... nothing I can see as yet.
The real issue regardless of what party or political side of the fence you're, there's little/no trust in the current gang oh sorry I mean government. Which is packed full of people with little or no real life experience, just about all of them from privileged backgrounds, who've never had to worry about how they pay the rent, next bill or just feed themselves!
But rest assured the gang have got someone to blame for it............ us
so they're off the hook
oh anyone seen the PM