Keir Starmer is facing pressure to brace Brits for the looming fallout from the Middle East crisis today.
The PM is holding a Downing Street press conference this morning to update the country on the Government’s response, after the latest brutal barbs from Donald Trump.
Sir Keir is expected to stress the need for calm and highlight that the energy cap is keeping domestic bills down for the next three months. Business Secretary Peter Kyle toured broadcast studios earlier insisting that there is no sign of fuel shortages, despite alarming rises in pump prices.
However, there are calls within Government to do more to prepare the public for the pain to come.
Fears are mounting of shortages as Iran maintains a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and the US President swings wildly between saying the war will end soon and threatening escalation.
Around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies usually run through the channel, and there are huge knock-on effects for products such as fertiliser and aluminium.
Keir Starmer is holding a Downing Street press conference this morning to update the country on the Government’s response, after the latest brutal barbs from Donald Trump
Donald Trump said the UK and other countries which did not take part in strikes against Iran should secure the Strait of Hormuz themselves
The food industry has raised alarm about inflation heading towards double digits by the end of the year. The boss of RyanAir has suggested there could be issues with jet fuel supplies by next month.
One minister told the Daily Mail that there should be advice similar to that proposed by the International Energy Agency recently.
‘We should be making more effort to brace people for what they need to do. Drive at 55, WFH, don’t go out as much… the stuff the IEA was talking about,’ they said.
‘These things are coming down the track. We need to help nudge people towards the things they can do to cut down on fuel use and energy bills.’
Families with a 55-litre diesel car face paying more than £100 at the pump for the first time since December 2022.
But Rachel Reeves played down the prospect of a fuel duty cut this morning, and insisted any bailout would go to poorer households rather than middle earners.
In an interview on BBC Breakfast, the Chancellor was challenged that a host of other countries had cut VAT and duty at the pumps and that was the quickest way to help Brits.
But Ms Reeves merely stressed she had already frozen fuel duty until September, and warned about levels of Government borrowing.
Speaking on Times Radio, Mr Kyle said: ‘I was looking immediately after the conflict started, where we interact in order to get resilience into our society, into our economy, we’ve been working with all these key sectors, identifying sectors where there may well be challenges down the track.
‘We have no (fuel) supply chain issues at this moment at all.
‘So people need to just realise that our country is well supplied when it comes to critical infrastructure and fuel.’
Mr Kyle was pushed on supply of medicines, after NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey said he was ‘really worried’ about the issue.
The Cabinet minister said: ‘What the NHS boss said this week was that he was worried about live medicines, one very specific medicine type in the NHS.
‘He has raised that concern, and we will look at that concern. But he is not talking about all medicine and all parts of the NHS.’
Mr Trump said yesterday that the UK and other countries which did not take part in strikes against Iran should secure the Strait of Hormuz themselves.
He posted on his Truth Social site: ‘All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.
‘You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.’
Sir Keir has faced calls to ease the cost of living from shadow chancellor Mel Stride, who said his party ‘will get Britain drilling in the North Sea, cut bills by £200, lower taxes, and deliver a stronger economy and a stronger country’.
To mark the start of April, Sir Keir said: ‘In an uncertain and volatile world, it is my Government’s duty to protect the British people at home and abroad.
‘I know the public are concerned about the conflict in Iran and what it means for them and their families.
‘I want to reassure them that they have a Government on their side, working with allies on de-escalation and bearing down on the cost of living.
‘Today, millions of people up and down the country will see energy bills go down by £117, wages go up for the lowest paid, and more support will be available for people who need it most – because of the decisions this Government has taken.
‘But we must go further to bear down on costs, and that means pushing for de-escalation in the Middle East and a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. That is the best way we can bring down the cost of living for families and that is my focus.’
The price most households pay for energy under regulator Ofgem’s price cap will fall by 7 per cent, or £117 a year, to £1,641 from Wednesday.
But respected energy analyst Cornwall Insight said its prediction for the watchdog’s price cap from July to September now stands at £1,929 for a typical dual fuel household – an increase of £288 or 18 per cent on April’s cap.
RAC figures yesterday showed average diesel prices at UK forecourts were 182.8p per litre, up 40p since the start of the conflict, which brought the cost of filling up a 55-litre family car to £100.52.
Rachel Reeves has hinted fuel duty will not be cut to help desperate drivers – as she insisted energy bailouts will not go to the ‘wealthy’
The average cost of petrol is 153.8p per litre, an increase of 20p since the war began.
Mr Trump later declared a visit to the US by the King and Queen later in April will be ‘TERRIFIC!’
He revealed the ‘historic state visit’ will take place between April 27 and 30.
State visits are undertaken on ‘the advice of His Majesty’s Government’.
The White House said Mr Trump will also deliver an address to the US public on Wednesday evening to provide an update on the war.
