Five years ago, the UK voted to leave the European Union.
When that decision was made, there were warnings that it would result in a lack of workers and this would have a profound impact on our communities.
Fast forward to 2021 and we are now seeing all of the doomsday theories - which were even predicted by reports in the Brexiter camp - come true.
READ MORE: Bus driver shortage 'crisis' forces cancellations across Bristol region
We don’t have enough drivers to deliver fuel or to work in abattoirs and this is causing shortages on forecourts and thousands of healthy pigs to be culled - and the worst still is yet to come.
As a paper, these issues are the bread and butter of what we report. BP put a warning on September 23 that it planned to ration its fuel due to shortages of delivery drivers. We of course published this story - there is no way you could ignore a statement like that.
But within minutes, people started complaining that covering this very real issue was causing panic buying and was the problem.
The following day, lines of vehicles were seen queueing at petrol stations: fights were even breaking out. Again, as a local newspaper we cannot ignore this is happening on our doorstep, we have a duty to report issues in our area and if we did not, we would be accused of trying to cover up the crisis.
But rather than looking at the situation and looking towards the country’s leaders for answers, people have been blaming the media for reporting the issue. It truly has been a case of shooting the messenger.
It was not our fault that oil companies were putting out statements they were having to ration their supply, and it wasn't their fault they were forced to put these statements out. The buck has to end with the policymakers who stopped visas without a new plan for workers.
People have also argued that we should stop using the words 'shortages', 'crisis' and 'problem', but there is a shortage of workers and this is causing a crisis. And we will continue to run stories on these problems until they are resolved.
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And we are seeing it all over again with coverage of thousands of pigs being culled, and reporting the impact this is going to have on the food supply. One Gloucestershire farmer said the only way the crisis could be solved was by bringing back European workers. But rather than discussing this issue, we have been flooded with message after message on our social media that reporting on the pigs being culled will ultimately lead to panic buying, and therefore we are causing hysteria by writing about it.
I wholeheartedly disagree with this argument - we cannot ignore what is happening to our farmers, to our HGV drivers and to our city just because some people might take it upon themselves to then go out and buy more than they need.
And as a footnote, panic buying in supermarkets is not an issue - and has not been a problem since March 2020.
I'm sure in the months to come, troubles, similar to the pigs and fuels, will sadly hit many more industries and we will continue to report it.
Local journalism has always been there to be the voice of its community, if you are worried about problems arising from a lack of workers, then come and talk to us, we are a platform for you to use and work with.
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