Adding Fuel to the Fire

Don’t panic.

The events of this week have demonstrated that those are two words that, when uttered by a government minister, are guaranteed to spark chaos and confusion.

Francis Maude’s inexplicable intervention (jerry cans and all) in the tanker drivers’ dispute transformed the distant prospect of a strike into an urgent crisis – at least in the perceptions of the media and (therefore) the public. Now the news bulletins and front pages are full of the imagery of the panic-buying of fuel – long queues outside many petrol stations, and makeshift closure signs outside others.

The immediate hope must surely be that today’s guarantee of no strike action until after Easter will reassure even the most irrational motorists; next week, journalists’ attention will no doubt shift to the conciliation talks that might yet avert any industrial action at all.

Just about everyone has an interest in seeing those talks succeed. The drivers want to reach a deal they can be satisfied with, their employers are keen to avoid disruption; with the economy still fragile, the last thing the government needs is for much of the country to be brought to a halt, and Labour will be desperate to avoid being torn between the interests of voters and unions.

The evidence of the last few days would make anyone think the two main parties were battling to exceed each others’ self-inflicted embarrassment. David Cameron hardly set the record straight when asked about his own minister’s ill-judged comments, while Ed Miliband was too busy tucking into sausage rolls to comment.

As Conservative faces got redder with every dried-out petrol pump, Labour threw them a lifeline by handing a comprehensive victory in the once rock-steady Bradford West constituency to none other than ex-Labour MP George Galloway.

All of this has been seen as taking the sting out of revelations at the weekend about so-called ‘cash for access’ – just as last week’s rare Friday policy announcement on minimum alcohol pricing did for the Budget. Although the Tory party dealt swiftly and decisively with the man responsible, the suspicion that Mr Cruddas was a mere whistle-blowing rogue remained.

Today, though, Miliband followed Cameron’s lead by publishing details of meetings he has had with major donors since becoming leader, only to find that his most regular guest has been Len McCluskey – the boss of Unite, the very union at the heart of the fuel strike saga.

Then, of course, there’s the case of the woman who suffered severe burns when decanting stockpiled fuel whilst cooking her dinner. It could have happened (and probably does happen) any time – but in this week of weeks, the cruel irony was too good for journalists to resist.

Political parties mired in funding scandals; threats of petrol shortages; Galloway back in Parliament… it’s been a worrying week.

But don’t panic.