Ration books

[spindrift]

Up here in Lancashire the local NHS trust has already put out information on fuel rationing. This was when talk of the strikes were raising their ugly heads. It was interesting reading to be sure.

[diamond lil]

I'd agree with TheGreatNothing - rationing worked well in WW2 so this lot will probly not do it In WW1 they didnt have rationing. and it took workers in munitions factories staying off work because they were too weak through lack of food to force the govt to bring it in In WW2 it worked and people were well fed. But I'd think maybe fuel -or poss as Sue said, food stamps.

[The-Great-Nothing]

Hi

If (for whatever reason) there is a limited amount of food/fuel/water/anything to go round - I would fully support a ration system.

The other alternative of people grabbing what they can, and the effect on the people who don't grab enough, doesn't paint a pretty picture........

Cheers

Matt

[Ian]

The-Great-Nothing, that is my point, there will be nothing to grab, Government will supply to those that need whatever is available. You will not be able to go and grab. When there is nothing, there will be nothing.

If, say for example, the milk price activists shut down the milk distribution, all available milk in the country will be gone on a matter of hours if not minutes. There will be no rationing as there will be nothing to ration.

The UK has no long term storage of food and a very limited stock of fuel which is reserved for 'blue light' utilities, not even hospitals get any. All businesses are encouraged to fall back on their continuity plans and so will the common person. This has generated such plans as Spindrift has mentioned for the local NHS trust, most have. Thus the official request to carry three day's of supplies.

Such possible shortages are managed beforehand so they can't happen. Can you remember when there last was a nationwide shortage of essentials? Threats by workers and unions yes, but an actual shortage. No. The possibility is managed out of the system.

-

I am always disappointed by statements such as "...surprised the government might be prepared and organised enough to plan for such a need!" There is a massive amount of contingency planning finished and going on, covering everything you can think of and a lot that you won't. Many councils publish theirs on the internet, have a look for yours.

Please contact your local Emergency Planning officer and have a chat. They are ordinary people that won't bite and will be pleased that someone is taking an interest, they are also paid by you so the information they have is already yours, you just have to ask for it. Do so. They will be able to acquaint you with most of the plans but some are necessarily restricted, mainly to stop ne'er-do-wells using them against us e.g. the location of pumping stations. As an example, which I am involved with, have a Google for "National Emergency Plan for Fuel (NEP-F)" which is the national response plan that has been interpreted and tailored for each area following the same principles.

[diamond lil]

I'm going OT but only slightly and briefly ok.
Maybe that was once true Ian and maybe it's partly true - but govts have a looong history of messing things up and this lot are even more incompetent than most. Remember politics has changed - used to be your MP came from your area, had once had a real job, and knew what life was all about. Now things work a different way, most of them have never had a real job or in some cases any job at all. They got where they are because of who they are and who they went to school with or if their faces fit.
Ordinary people aren't stupid, and don't hate all govts on principle. But they know a halfwit when they see one - or a whole cabinet full I wouldn't trust this lot to organise a raffle in a nursery. I suppose this, in essence, is why it's good to prep

[Ian]

But that is what I said, the planning is being done by ordinary people, not the MPs, who I agree with you, have not got a clue. But they do appreciate that if there is a supply problem affecting their constituents, they personally will get it in the neck. This drives them to approve the resources necessary for contingency planning and keep their hands off.

Please get in touch with your local EPO, have a look at the extant plans and let us know what you think of them.

[Dr_zoidberg]

I have been saying since the recession and euro crisis started that ration books need to be introduced. I'm surprised the plebs who run the British government have bothered to think about something like this. I'm sure they'll all get a VISA and go off to Canada, Bermuda or Switzerland or some other land of plenty and spend the money they keep in tax havens while we all starve to death. Well some of us anyway...

Although I'm not sure what we're going to ration. We live basically hand to mouth with all the daily essentials. I've worked for warehousing companies. There's no money in keeping stock sitting around that won't be used for 2 weeks or a month let alone 6 months or a year! The warehouses that supply our supermarkets only keep a weeks stock themselves and their supplier a week as well. Most supermarkets need nightly re-stocking. Most of the crops have been damaged by the horrendous weather over the summer, things like crops are sold on global markets as well. Farming isn't a charity. Its business. They will sell to who can pay them. We sure as hell won't be able to.

The UK only produces enough food for something like 13 million of its inhabitants. The government estimates our population at 63 million. And we all know that there are far more than that living here...

In Zimbabwe where they suffered hyperinflation what little they do have in the country is given to them by South Africa out of charity. Will anyone give to us out of charity? I doubt it.

[jansman]

I work in a family firm that still holds ration details!!! The meat trade was the last to come off ration in 1954 , NINE years after the end of ww 2. Back then everyone shopped LOCALLY. Now we can shop REMOTELY on the internet or by driving god knows how far to a shed on thebypass.
How do you even begin to ration that kind of shopping?

Ww2 you could ONLY shop with REGISTERED retailers. No way we could nor would do that now.