Keir Starmer today challenged Boris Johnson to recall Parliament in a bid to solve the continuing fuel crisis.
The Labour leader said the Prime Minister should summon MPs back to Westminster “if it needs legislation” to take “emergency action” today.
That is despite Tory MPs heading to Manchester tomorrow and Sunday for the Conservative Party Conference, after Labour’s own conference in Brighton finished on Wednesday.
Parliament is due to be in recess for another two weeks until October 18 despite the unfolding crisis.
The government has already pledged to offer 5,000 temporary visas for HGV drivers from abroad, as part of an existing system for seasonal workers.
But Labour’s leader said Parliament may need to be sitting to change the law. He also demanded the government go further, including changing futher laws in parliament if necessary.
Sir Keir said in a statement: “We’re going to see this driver shortage problem coming back again in different sectors. And I don’t want people in this country to have another Christmas ruined by this Prime Minister’s lack of planning.
“By the Government’s own admission, their scheme won’t be up and running for weeks with the first HGV drivers not on the roads until November. This simply isn’t good enough.
“Every day wasted is prolonging this crisis. The Government has been talking about issuing visas but still hasn’t done anything. Meanwhile our essential workers are struggling to get to work and families face a cost of living crisis.
“The Prime Minister should be taking emergency action today but yet again he’s failed to grasp the seriousness of the crisis. If it needs legislation, then let’s recall Parliament to get these emergency measures through urgently.
“The Prime Minister promised to save Christmas last year and we all know that went disastrously wrong. Now he’s making the same empty promises again.”
Labour also demanded the government hold an emergency summit of the road haulage industry, training providers, affected business groups, Government ministers and transport unions.
And the party called for the 300 troops currently being trained up to drive fuel tankers to be deployed “now”.
Labour also said the government should ask stations where there is supply to extend opening hours to help key workers including the NHS.
It comes after a government minister warned motorists face at least another week of fuel shortages.
Policing Minister Kit Malthouse admitted filling station shortages may persist for another "week or so", blaming “strong demand”.
"We are still seeing strong demand in parts of the country around fuel, albeit that there is no problem of supply into the country,” he told the BBC.
“The distribution mechanism is trying to respond to this unprecedented demand.
“My latest briefing is that the situation is stabilising, that we are seeing more forecourts with a greater supply of fuel and hopefully that, as demand and supply come better into balance over the next few days - week or so - that we will see a return to normality.”
Ministers were accused of “gaslighting” the public by insisting things were returning to normal, despite long queues still forming at garages.
Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said yesterday: "That crisis is something which is back under control.”
But one petrol station owner in Surrey told the Telegraph: “It's like they're gaslighting the public. It was chaos yesterday, it was chaos today, and it will be chaos tomorrow.”
The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents about two-thirds of UK filling stations, said 27% of members still reported being out of fuel yesterday.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed this week that soldiers were being trained up by the fuel industry to drive petrol tankers to forecourts.
The Mirror understands that training is still under way, and no decision to deploy the soldiers has yet been made by the Ministry of Defence.
Some 150 military drivers and a further 150 drivers' mates were put on standby as part of Operation Escalin.
