UK looks abroad to ease trucker shortage amid run on gas

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — In a U-turn, Britain says it will issue thousands of emergency visas to foreign truck drivers to help fix supply-chain problems that have caused empty supermarket shelves, long lines at gas stations and shuttered petrol pumps. The Conservative government had resisted easing immigration rules, despite warnings from businesses that the driver shortage could lead to a Christmas without turkey or toys for many British families. It said Saturday it was acting because of the “exceptional circumstances this year.” The haulage industry says the U.K. is short tens of thousands of truckers, due to a perfect storm of factors including the coronavirus pandemic, an aging workforce and an exodus of European Union workers following Britain’s departure from the bloc