Minister's advice to stockpile fuel goes horribly wrong

1. 82

   CMHypnoposted 12 years ago

   It was bound to happen of course, as some poor lady has now suffered 40% burns while decanting petrol and petrol stations are running out of fuel before there is even a strike.
   
   Do you think that the Minister should resign?
   
   
   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article … tages.html

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   1. 83

      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It was an accident waiting to happen. Most people are not fit to be in charge of something as combustible as a can of petrol.
      
      I am more worried about why anyone from the government caused the panic buying.
      
      No cabinet minister speaks to the public without the full backing of the cabinet, so this was a planned move. (They may deny this, but it is fact).
      
      Why?
      
      To increase the government's coffers exponentially (most of the cost of petrol is tax) for short term gain? ie they are desperate for money.
      
      To de-stabilise the positional strength of the tanker drivers, should they go on strike. Why are they planning strike action?
      
      Almost certainly to somehow turn public opinion against the tanker drivers in whatever dispute they have.
      
      Sneaky typically Tory underhand tactics.
      
      The whole lot should resign, but guess that's not going to happen.
      
      Me? I back the workers any day. Go - tanker drivers!

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   2. 59

      sen.sush23posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This is so stupid. How can ministers aggravate crisis situations? Sure! But why only Maude? The government is definitely a party to this foolhardiness, if it did not take action immediately and issue a statement against Maude's flippant comments.

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2. 60

   John Holdenposted 12 years ago

   Why are the tanker drivers planning strike action?
   
   They are afraid that changes in the distribution industry have not only reduced their pay considerably, but introduced unsafe working practices into the business.
   Essentially, Health and Safety, or rather a lack of it.

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   1. 83

      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      We, the public, should be totally behind them then, instead of getting side-stepped with stupid government ministers giving out unsafe advice.
      
      We've been promised a decent public transport system for years.
      
      If they'd put the money into it, people wouldn't need to use their cars so often, thus reducing the demand for fuel.
      
      Oh and if it had been over pay, I would still back them. They have one of the most dangerous jobs in the country and deserve every penny they earn and more.

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      1. 60

         John Holdenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I think that to cut anybody's pay by £9,000 a year is criminal, especially when the shareholders see bigger dividends as a result!
         
         Public transport in this country is still stigmatised by Thatchers "successful people don't use public transport".
         
         I am firmly of the opinion that the whole incident has been engineered by this corrupt and meddlesome government we have now. You notice that the tanker drivers have not even decided to strike yet but in a week when the government has introduced this most inequitable budget suddenly the supposed strike is all the newspaper can talk about.

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         1. 83

            IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            OMG a £9000 cut? Are they mad? That is so bad!!
            
            Yet just ONE government department can afford £400,000 a year for tea and biscuits - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article … ONTHS.html
            
            Yes the Tories are famous for engineering 'incidents' to take the heat off their own shortcomings.
            
            The Falklands War springs to mind.
            
            It just sickens me that they have been caught with their nose in the trough (expenses scandal) yet they bail out multi-million dollar banks (RBS), allow their own to become millionaires through being able to chair certain committees, make one rule for us and one for them (smoking is allowed in Parliament), yet they allow the tanker drivers, and many other groups of workers come to that, to be treated so unfairly.
            
            Now, thanks to their intervention, no doubt many more of their own people will suffer burns, explosions and more through storing dangerous fuels at home.
            
            But hey that's OK, while we're talking about that, we can forget about their Budget!

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3. 83

   IzzyMposted 12 years ago

   On the same topic really, I was reading a really tragic story about someone being gunned down in front of TV crew in Brazil.
   
   A commenter at the foot of the article said something like "Typical Americans" referring I suppose to the use of guns, but getting it quite wrong, because of course this quite clearly happened in Brazil.
   
   Someone replied and said
   
   "Good grief. Were you queuing for petrol yesterday by any chance? Its Brazil, the title gives you a clue, and then assuming you can read the article explains further."
   
   

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4. 60

   edmob1posted 12 years ago

   I think Francis Maude should have resigned on Tuesday, when it became apparent he did not know the countries laws on the storage of petrol in households. Not because of what has happened to this lady today.
   However;it is not the nature of politicians or captains of industry to fall on their swords in this century.

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5. 60

   John Holdenposted 12 years ago

   I was interested to see that although one of the drivers gripes is a reduction in safety standards the governments response is to relax restrictions on drivers hours!
   
   How long before a tanker driver falls asleep at the wheel?

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