stockpiling

Its 29 in the shade at my getaway in Norfolk. My niece has taken the crying baby out in the car to cool her down. I’m writing Hinterland. This story has hit me like a boxing glove amidst the balmy bankholidayness that surrounds us making me realise that in just over 60 days we could be revisited by a food and consumables challenge akin to 1939. Perhaps that’s why nearby Holt has a 1940s festival! I really do worry however about what a no deal will mean for those of limited means, particularly the vulnerable, in rural England. I heard a man on the radio yesterday struggling to explain which of the freedoms “stolen” from us by the EU most aggrieved him. I do some work in Northern Ireland and I am sadden by the 95% of the rest of population who don’t seem to care about what the return of a hard border will mean there – I think it puts the Good Friday Agreement under real threat. Some people might venture to say these problems are all self inflicted. We’ll only really know when the “rubber hits the road”. This will be sooner than most of us living through this last few days of the “phoney war” but in many cases beginning to fill up our ration cupboards think. This story tells us….

A quarter of UK voters have started taking precautions against the adverse consequences of a no-deal Brexit, including stockpiling food, toiletries and medicines, according to a new Opinium/Observer poll.

While 75% of those questioned said they had taken no special action, the remaining 25% said they had taken one or more of a series of measures listed by Opinium, which also included altering travel plans and delaying major purchases.

The survey was taken after leaks of official documents showed concerns within Whitehall about the effects of no deal on the supply of food, medicines and other items.

Among those who had taken action, 9% said they had begun stockpiling goods, 8% said that they had delayed major purchases and 7% said they had altered travel plans. Among people who said they had begun stockpiling 57% said they bought extra tinned food, 45% extra medicines, 38% more toiletries and 30% additional toilet paper.