Let’s be real. The UK isn’t running out of fuel. Our refineries are working. The supply chain is fine. The problem is us. We’re creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. One person fills a jerry can, then another, and suddenly Tesco’s car park looks like a Mad Max audition.
The government is begging us to chill out. “There is no shortage,” they say, with that tone you use on a toddler having a meltdown over a broken biscuit. But we’re not listening. We’re too busy panic-buying to hear the panic-selling advice.
Fights break out as panic buying causes petrol stations run dry in
Remember the toilet paper days? Same energy.
This is just like March 2026, but instead of loo roll, it’s unleaded. And instead of a virus, it’s geopolitical tension. We’re hardwired to hoard when we’re scared. It’s in our British DNA, along with queuing and complaining about the weather.
Rhetorical question time: Do you really need to fill that spare canister for your lawnmower? No. You don’t. Unless you’re planning to mow your way to the Middle East peace talks, you’re just adding to the frenzy.
