As has been pointed out before on
Zelo Street more than once, the power wielded by our free and fearless press rests not only on what they choose to publish, but what they choose not to publish. Recently, the latter category has mainly consisted of failing to investigate all those lockdown-busting parties held in Downing Street and at other Government offices, and then failing to report what the press undoubtedly knew.
Ah, c'est Douvres, n'est-ce pas?
Something else that reflects poorly on alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and his coterie of ineptitude, is not being widely reported especially in the right-leaning part of the press, yet is very visible indeed, so visible in fact that it has showed up on Google Maps, is the latest by-product of that brilliant Brexit deal: queues of lorries, several miles long (kilometres if you prefer), on the approach to the port of Dover.
One of the few media outlets to cover the story is the
Independent,
which has told “
Huge lorry queues building up at the Port of Dover have been blamed ‘entirely’ on extra controls which have come into force from Brexit … It comes as port chiefs urged the UK government to hold talks with the EU on ways to ease further checks set to come in later in 2022 which could cause ‘disastrous’ disruption to trade”. There was more.
“
One courier told The Independent he had been caught up in queues of up to 15km (9 miles) since full customs controls came into force at the beginning of January … The British haulier said it was taking 15 to 20 minutes for each driver to clear checks needed for the UK government’s new Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) system and other export paperwork at Dover … ‘It’s entirely Brexit – you can’t blame it on anything else but Brexit,’ said the driver, who has had to push back some deliveries”. And yet more.
“
Recent disruption has been even more significant around the French port of Calais since new customs controls were introduced on goods imported into the UK at the start of January … Lorry drivers have reported queueing for up to eight hours to get through controls, partly because UK firms have struggled with complex new customs declarations and rules-of-origin forms”. And guess what? It’s likely to get even worse.
That looks like a long line of lorries ...
As ITV News
has reported, “
At the end of September, the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) comes into effect … Passengers from non-EU countries will have to carry out biometric checks at the border … ‘I’m worried about EES,’ says Doug Bannister, the chief executive of the Port of Dover”. He has good reason to be worried.
“
Port of Dover and GetLink, the group which operates the Channel Tunnel, believe that passengers will have to leave their vehicles to do facial recognition and fingerprint scans at the border and the resulting delays will cause mayhem … Between them, the Channel Tunnel and Port of Dover carry more than 30 million passengers a year … They also account for more than £260 billion of trade”. 59% of all UK-EU trade in goods, in fact.
... because that's what it is
No more of that just driving on to Le Shuttle or a ferry. So it is no surprise that “
With nine months to go, MPs on the Transport Select Committee are worried there’s no solution in sight”. And how many papers are putting this on the front page? That would be none.
Brexit is not done, but an ever-worsening horror show.
What you won’t read in the papers.
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9 comments:
It comes as port chiefs urged the UK government to hold talks with the EU on ways to ease further checks set to come in later in 2022 which could cause ‘disastrous’ disruption to trade”. There was more.
No chance of that. Thnk of all the Brexiter complaints about the border controls they wanted and voted for being watered down.
I won't see it in "the papers" because I wouldn't wipe my arse with a British propaganda rag, let alone pay for one.
Surprise, surprise, I couldn't find anything about it on the website of the Boris Booster Club either.
But remember, kids, there will be no downsides to Brexit, only considerable upsides.
I expect that maintaining the Davis Dossier – https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/regular-features/the-davis-downside-dossier-2/ – is one of those Sisyphean tasks like painting the Forth Bridge* or keeping up with the lies told by Donald Trump.
* Yes, yes, I know they’re now using some super long-life paint which gives the lads with the brushes a bit of time off
The BBC - no longer able to ignore the story - has finally given it a mention. Not one word about Brexit. Not one.
@Nigel Stapley… the BBC have covered this story. Just recently with ‘Dover queues: Traffic builds on the A20 in Kent.’ as well as local news from the area all week. It’s worth Googling before typing. I love the Beeb, me.
@ 18:27.
Of course BBC "News" "covered it". Then, like all the other propaganda glove puppets, quickly shoved it under the carpet.
The BBC "News and Current Affairs" department is a thoroughgoing disgrace of tory establishment bullshit, lies and censorship by omission. All of it made worse by very high production values in other areas. The contrast is stark.
tory hatred of the BBC is not because of its news broadcasts. They already control that. It's because it demonstrates the success of collective social funding and use. They hate the NHS for the same reason. Such a financial model prevents them and their like-minded Yank carpet baggers from raping it for easy profits. It's an example of what society COULD be.....
and that would herald the end of capitalist rule.
The deterioration of BBC "News" was never better demonstrated than the tiny preposterous sight of that strange woman "presenter" in tears when Phil The Greek checked out.
Meantime, the "reportage" of Bozo Circus lying and hypocrisy is nothing more than an indication that the tory anti-Bozo faction has real traction. Hence Kuentssberg with a face like a smacked arse.
Don't kid yourself the demise of Bozo will change anything of substance at BBC "News"...or any other propaganda outlet. Minute honourable exceptions apart, the corruption of corporate media is almost complete. If it's truth you want you will have to look elsewhere.
The tragedy is we haven't even reached the bottom of the barrel yet.
It's worth seeking out the comments of the Time Party’s Robert “Rob” Kimbell on this matter, purely for teh LOLZ0RZ. Mr Kimbell, a former management consultant turned full-time idiot, thinks these queues could be done away with by containerisation. Presumably using containers that are delivered to Felixstowe by flying unicorns. But since the EU is no longer a major trading partner of Britain, he’s a bit surprised by the whole phenomenon anyway, in much the same way that sheep are surprised by the sun coming up in the morning and that tasty green stuff in the fields.
Much more mirth may be had just by sticking his name in a Famous Web Search Engine.
@MikeD,
I checked several layers down on the BBC 'News' website on that day and could find nothing about the 17km queues. Admittedly, I didn't check the 'local' news because I would have thought that this was a 'national' story.
I note that the Broadcorping Castration did mention it on subsequent days, but only to parrot the line being put out by the Port of Dover that the queues were down to 'abnormally high freight traffic' and nothing to do with B**x*t at all, oh deary me, no.
I don't mind the BBC (at least in default of a proper public - as opposed to state-controlled - broadcaster), but it is time its news & current affairs section was disbanded and re-staffed with proper journalists rather than clients of power.
@Mr Larrington,
I tried going to the Time Party's page of proposals. Seems quite appropriate that I got a 404. When you do find their policies...oh, boy! Reads like Chukka, Kilroy and Icke had a child produced by a ménage à trois.
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