According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), panic buying of petrol after cabinet office minister Francis Maude advised people to fill up jerry cans to beat the looming fuel strike boosted retail sales across the economy in March.
The ONS said the volume of retail sales rose by 1.8% month on month – and “one of the main drivers” came from petrol sales. The statisticians said the increase “was a result of consumers purchasing more fuel in case the threat of a fuel strike in the latter part of the month came to reality”.
We all witnessed the queues of anxious motorists snarling up the roads in our towns and cities as they waited for their turn at the pumps. Such is the Government’s power to affect the national mood.
Imagine if they used that power in a positive way. Instead of inciting the sort of fear-driven ‘call to action’ that would have impressed the likes of Joseph Stalin; how about Messrs Cameron and Clegg bang their heads together and work out a ‘happy days’ plan to get us handing over our cash with a smile on our faces. I’m thinking along the lines of ‘quantitative easing’ for the masses…
QE for the banks and financial services hasn’t really driven the economy in the way you’d expect £325bn to do so, which is the total amount (so far) that has been pumped in to these industries by the Bank of England. Now, just imagine what effect could be achieved if that unbelievable pot of cash had been shared out amongst the good people of the UK?
According to the World Bank, the official population of the UK stands at 62,218,761. That would mean each man, woman and child could be happily spending their £5,223,504 right now, instead of miserably queuing for overpriced petrol; struggling to save huge deposits for their first homes or indeed spending sleepless nights worrying if they can afford next month’s mortgage repayment.
If that is just too scary a prospect for the Government to stomach, how about speeding up global warming? According to the statisticians, March’s unseasonably warm weather also helped to boost overall sales volumes as shoppers flocked to the shops to stock up on summery clothes shoes – sales in clothing and shoe shops were up by 2.8% on the month.
Personally, I think having a few million in the bank and the knowledge that the Earth wasn’t going to turn into a giant Turkish bath would give me far more reasons to be cheerful, but that’s just me…
Heather Campbell
Editor
