Can Michael Gove ‘save Christmas’?
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has been tasked with fixing Britain’s supply chain issues

Michael Gove has been landed with the challenge of ensuring festive favourites are on supermarket shelves this December as supply chain disruptions threaten to “cancel” Christmas.
Boris Johnson had appointed the Cabinet Office minister to lead a cross-governmental group that will aim to “rapidly increase the number of HGV drivers and work with food suppliers” in order to tackle shortages in supermarkets and restaurants across the UK, reported The Times.
Announcing the launch of the National Economic Recovery Taskforce (Logistics) to cabinet members yesterday, the prime minister reportedly joked that he “didn’t want to have to cancel Christmas again”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The move comes as industry leaders warn consumers to prepare for long-term shortages owing to a lack of lorry drivers and food-processing workers, as the combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit take a heavy toll.
In a bid to tackle the ongoing problems, Gove’s team will “coordinate government departments responsible for the food chain” and is expected to “run along similar lines to the no-deal Brexit preparations apparatus”, said The Times.
Gove had a “similar role” in managing Brexit negotiations and no-deal planning, noted The Telegraph.
His appointment followed a bleak prediction from Marks & Spencer chair Archie Norman that supermarkets were facing a “bumpy ride” before Christmas.
Norman told LBC radio on Monday that a “fandango of bureaucracy” at EU borders was causing severe delays in the export of goods.
These rules are “due to be mirrored” on imports from Ireland and the continent from October, said The Guardian. But while Downing Street “is expected to announce whether it will delay the checks on goods coming in”, the paper continued, business leaders “say it is not the answer”.
“While further delays to controls on imported EU products may go some way to keep supermarket shelves stocked at a challenging time for the UK supply chain, supply issues are largely due to workforce availability,” said Nick von Westenholz, the National Farmers Union’s director of trade and business strategy.
“A delay would do little to address these problems, nor the long-term trade frictions we are experiencing.”
The British Retail Consortium and trade assocation Logistics UK, which represents freight firms, warned last month that the UK had a shortfall of about 90,000 HGV drivers, which was “placing increasingly unsustainable pressure on retailers and their supply chains".
Analysis of the latest Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey suggested that 14,000 EU lorry drivers left jobs in the UK in the year to June 2020, and that only 600 had returned by this July.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Discount stores were thriving. How did they stumble?
The Explainer Blame Walmart — and inflation
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Kaja Kallas: the EU's new chief diplomat shaping the future of European defense
In the Spotlight Former Estonian Prime Minister's status as an uncompromising Russia hawk has gone from liability to strength
By David Faris Published
-
7 ways to drink spectacularly across the United States this spring
The Week Recommends A bar for every springtime occasion
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
What dangers does the leaked Signal chat expose the US to?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The White House's ballooning group chat scandal offered a masterclass in what not to say when prying eyes might be watching
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'There is a certain kind of strength in refusing to concede error'
instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
How are attorneys dealing with Trump's attacks on law firms?
Today's Big Question Trump has sanctioned the law firm that investigated his dealings with Stormy Daniels, among others
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Most Americans have never heard of the Office of Net Assessment'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is America heading toward competitive authoritarianism?
Today's Big Question Some experts argue that the country's current democratic system is fading
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why is MAGA turning on Amy Coney Barrett?
Today's Big Question She may be the swing vote on Trump cases
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why is Trump's cryptocurrency reserve plan putting some economists on edge?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president has named five cryptocurrencies he wants to see added to a federal stockpile as experts and lawmakers alike warn that the whole project could be a total flop
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published