//…essentially what has happened is that Esso and BP have reached a point where a large intake of drivers have retired.//
Exactly. And that is not the government’s fault, nor is it the fault of the EU nor of Brexit. Directors and managers run companies, not the government. Haulage companies know when their staff are due to retire, they know their “wastage” rates and they know how many staff they need. The fact that they’ve been providing rubbish pay and conditions and so cannot recruit staff is their fault and nobody else’s. Any losses that are due to Brexit are also theirs to foresee and cure. They know how many of their staff are EU citizens and they’ve had over five years to get used to the idea that the UK will no longer be part of the EU and that some of their staff may possibly leave as a result. Instead many have sat on their hands waiting for the government to “do something.”
So the massive queues outside petrol stations arent a sign of things"grinding to a halt",
The massive queues are caused by stockpiling rather than any overall shortages. Here’s an article from the Grauniad, an organ not particularly renowned for its support of a Tory government:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/25/panic-buying-rather-than-shortages-causing-queues-at-uk-petrol-stations-aa-head-says
“People have been spotted filling up jerry cans with petrol in pictures being circulated on social media.”
If you look at the Daily Mail article I have linked below, you will find a little way down in that article, a picture of a motorist filling six plastic containers full of fuel to go into the boot of her car.
In turn, the media frenzy may have been caused by this:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10028661/HGV-boss-accused-triggering-petrol-pump-crisis-Ministers-point-finger-ex-BBC-man.html
Shipping in cheap foreign labour is not the answer to this problem (and it’s a problem, not a crisis). It was doing that over the last forty years that had led to the UK becoming a low-wage low skilled economy. The answer is for employers to pay the proper going rate to its people and to train them up as required, and not import them, ready trained, from abroad when all they will do is simply depress pay. The UK is out of the EU now and, bar an absolute turn of faith – which no major political party seems keen on promoting – it will remain out until the EU is finally wound up as the failed experiment it is. Perhaps you could pass that information on to your friend.