British Conservatives: Party convention in times of empty shelves

No gasoline, no manpower: the supply crisis in Great Britain should actually damage Prime Minister Johnson. Actually. But it is more likely that the Tory boss will be celebrated again at the upcoming party congress.

The British Conservative Convention is taking place under difficult circumstances. Because many Brits had difficulties getting from A to B by car in the past week because they could not refuel. That also led to aggression: “That’s crazy,” says one British woman. “There have been fights and abuse, and one woman has said that her son was threatened with a knife. All for a little gasoline.”

The fuel crisis is not over yet. The government is now sending letters across the country to recruit truck drivers. Even Germans living on the island, who are allowed to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tons according to their driving license, have already received mail from the Ministry of Transport – whether they could step in as truck drivers. In the daily newspaper “Independent” a German is quoted as saying that he would rather keep his job at an investment bank.

The consequences of Brexit are slowly becoming noticeable

What makes you smile actually shows the government’s plight. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to reassure: “We want to make sure that all the necessary preparations are made to come by Christmas and beyond – not just in terms of supplying the gas stations, but all areas of the supply chain.”

The fact is that there is a growing shortage of skilled workers in the UK. Because there is also a lack of employees in the slaughterhouses – many workers from Eastern Europe were employed here in the past – the pig farmers are currently sounding the alarm. Rob Mutimer of the National Pig Association clarifies: “We have two weeks to go before we have to consider the mass culling. We are fast approaching an animal welfare disaster.”

Johnson’s reputation has not suffered – yet

None of these are good headlines for the government, but Johnson’s reputation in the party doesn’t hurt, says Florian Foos, junior professor of political behavior at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “The Conservative Party today is more positive about Premier Johnson than the Conservative faction before the election. Simply because more MPs were elected who are on Johnson’s line.”

So what will happen at the party convention? It will be interesting to see whether Johnson can be celebrated again for the implementation of Brexit – although he is jointly responsible for the current problems. In any case, he should refer to the successful vaccination program. In addition, the prime minister must present his party’s visions for the future: on the subject of climate protection and for the so-called “leveling up”, the equalization of living conditions in the country.

Regardless of the content, the prime minister should benefit from the fact that he can speak live in front of an audience again at this conference: “This is of course a great advantage for Johnson. He can draw this energy from the crowd, ie from the party members, who he is at the party congress.” will likely be received euphorically, “says expert Foos.