Brigden has talked to HGV but seems to have not listened, instead blaming the previous Labour Government. Drivers say poor pay and conditions are the primary reason that qualified drivers have given up the job.
Despite the Conservatives being in power for 11 years, poor pay and conditions are Tony Blairs fault apparently.
It is hard to make sense of his thinking because it is clearly buck passing nonsense.
// I went on to talk with a lorry driver with 40 years of industry experience who illustrated the problems, not least that the average age of a lorry diver is well into their 50s. He told me that the pay is not good, working conditions are poor, and that he felt undervalued that his job which is not seen as a vocation despite the need for qualifications and the fact that they took responsibility for loads worth many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
When I raised this issue in 2015 the estimated shortage of HGV drivers was 50,000, now it is double that and whilst there are 600,000 HGV licence holders in the UK, only half of those are active in the industry and for many, it is the reasons that have been cited above why they have left the job, the drivers have voted with their feet. //