Be kind and think of my son and mother-in-law as panic buying returns – Jayne Dowle

A spokesperson for Asda says the Leeds-based supermarket chain is not seeing a recurrence of panic-buying either in store or online. Clearly, they didn’t see the shelves stripped bare of toilet rolls in our local store last week.

I swear that the choice of rice and pasta looked a bit limited too. I asked my son, who works there part-time, if this was real or just another symptom of the mild paranoia that seems to have become my constant companion these days.

Jack confirmed my suspicions. He says that some shoppers have indeed started to selfishly pile their trollies once again. After the scenes of supermarket carnage earlier this year, you might think that people would have learned to be a bit more considerate.

Who can forget that photograph of the elderly gentleman who could find nothing for his tea? Or that footage of the nurse in tears because everything had gone when she finished her shift?

Sadly, self-preservation will always win over the common good. Whilst most of us take a sensible approach to keeping our cupboards stocked, a minority consider no one but themselves.

Unfortunately, this minority have the financial means and the physical and mental strength to buy and shop in bulk. And usually a car with a big boot. This means that everyone else, including older shoppers, the frail, vulnerable and those reliant on public transport, are literally shoved to the back of the queue.

As if shopping for food isn’t enough of a trial already. We’re wearing masks, bathed in sanitiser and trying to keep the correct social distance when others are blithely paying no heed to the fact that we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic. Now, there’s a growing chance that essential items will already have been hoovered up when we do get there. Can’t we just be kind to each other? And yes, pull together, as we’re supposed to.

I’m really trying not to blame the Prime Minister for this; his list of oversights and mistakes is long enough already. However, I do think, six months into the biggest peacetime crisis ever to strike the country, that he needs to show some stronger leadership.

It’s important that he and his Ministers spearhead the introduction of a viable test and trace system and work towards a safe and reliable vaccine. His government has many plates to juggle, but he must not forget that each family in the land also has plates to fill.

I’m sure his PR team can quickly come up with one of his famous soundbites to remind the public that if we all keep to our share, there will be enough food and essential supplies to go round.

There is only one outcome if this thoughtless behaviour takes hold again and that is enforced rationing. Indeed, Morrisons has become the first major supermarket to reinstate restrictions after confirming it has introduced a purchase limit of three on products such as toilet roll and disinfectant.

However, it reassured people that there are still plenty of items “available for everyone”. For some, these words will fall on deaf ears. They won’t be convinced, but they won’t like standing in a long queue in the rain either if supermarkets are forced to adopt a new one-in, one-out policy.

They should also know that stockpiling actually creates wider problems. Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis called panic-buying “unnecessary”, adding that it “creates a tension in the supply chain” that is easily avoided.

On the shop floor, Jack dreads the re-introduction of rationing because he will be the one having to police it. He’s certainly not looking forward to remonstrating with individuals who think it’s their divine right to buy up every loaf of bread to stash in their chest freezer. I can’t help but wonder how many of these hoarders also made a huge show of turning out to clap for carers and putting NHS rainbows in their windows.

Can I make a plea then, on behalf of Jack and his millions of supermarket colleagues, that everybody thinks of others before putting themselves first? And can I also make a plea on behalf of my mother-in-law, who has only recently been brave enough to do her own shopping again, and all the other people overwhelmed by the challenge of filling a basket in these difficult times? It’s not just the lack of items on the shelves, it’s the distress of returning home empty-handed that frightens people.

On announcing his Winter Economy Plan, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said that we must learn “to live without fear” this winter. It means not just safeguarding the economy and our health, but being safe in the knowledge that we can go to the supermarket without dread, anxiety or the threat of intimidation.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson