Why does the UK hate HGV drivers?

We have a strange relationship in the UK with truck drivers.

We need them to keep food on the shelves, petrol in the tanks, and shops full of stuff we don't need to buy. They are vital to our economy, and our lifestyle.

But we don't really like them.

Town councils make it very hard for them to park their trucks, and only allow deliveries at the most awkward times.

Motorway service areas charge them a fortune to park, offer them food at eye-watering prices, and give them the most basic, dirty (and often broken) washing facilities.

Haulage companies realised that Eastern European drivers would work for a fraction of what British ones were paid, so in general, their income plummeted.

All the above resulted in thousands of British HGV drivers throwing in the towel and getting better paid jobs with more sociable hours.

Then Brexit and the pandemic created a perfect storm. The pool of overseas drivers disappeared and created a massive shortage.

There is no shortage of food and petrol (gas), or trucks to haul them in. But there is a shortage of drivers to deliver it all. Drivers who have now discovered better things to do than sitting in noisy cabs, working long hours, missing their families and seeing their earnings dwindle.

Local governments (town and city councils) don't want to do anything to help because they don't like huge trucks on their streets.

National government has been slow to recognise the problem and thought encouraging the training of new home-grown drivers would be the answer. But they failed to understand that driving HGV lorries is not an attractive job any more. So they are, belatedly, trying to make it easier for Eastern European drivers to come back.

I'm sure we'd welcome them, but as the extended visa the government is offering is only until Christmas, I don't see that as being a great recruitment offer. It might even piss off the remaining British drivers.

Conservative policy seems to be very much one of sticking a plaster over the problem and hope it will sort itself out eventually. Mind you, our opposition, the Labour Party, is more interested in writing childish essays, calling the Prime Minister 'scum' and splitting themselves into in-fighting factions than offering any practical suggestions. So maybe politicians of any stripe are not the answer.

What we need to do is understand that HGV drivers should be considered vital for the health of our nation in the same way that NHS workers were last year. National government needs to bash a few local councilors' heads together to make them understand that banning trucks from their towns, issuing parking tickets as soon as they stop to unload, and refusing to allow them to park up for the night, is not the way to stimulate their local economies.

I was (and still am) in favour of Brexit, but as far as conditions for HGV drivers are concerned, much of Europe treats them far better than we do. They seem to understand how vital they are - something that the UK is only now beginning to realize.

Okay, that's my semi-political rant over with. You may or may not agree with me, that's your right, and I welcome any and all comments - just keep it civil please!