Seanm
pfm Member
It’s not just a comms issue, it’s a question of figuring out what’s going on and understanding its broader significance, which means distinguishing minor causes from major, short term from long term factors etc. If this all comes down to a shortage of chemicals due to transportation issues it’s a storm in a teacup, really, because it will be resolved before very long, Brexit or no Brexit. If it’s symptomatic of deeper issues regarding transportation, utilities, accountability - then Brexit doesn't explain much and is basically a distraction.I am really not too interested in the tactical comms aspect of this. I'm not minimizing the structural issues, decades of under-investment etc. But these have been around for ages: why the escalation of problems now? There are no similar escalations in other countries, AFAICT. We've been given a reason (shortage of basic chemicals) and a root cause (lack of HGV drivers to transport the stuff). If this is real, B****t is clearly a major factor; if not, it's just window dressing put forward by the water companies and the cause is something else. Anybody planning on using British beaches next year should be interested in getting a coherent answer.
There are lots of obvious differences between the UK and much of Europe that might explain why we seem especially badly affected - we’re an island, we have an absentee government, our utilities are run for profit, transport infrastructure is run down etc. - and presumably any number of less obvious reasons such as the one Gav points to. Brexit’s obviously in the mix but it’s not clear it’s the key difference.