Rachel Reeves warns of ‘cost to British families and businesses’ of Iran war
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned “the war in Iran will come at a cost to British families and businesses”.
Ms Reeves said that although the scale of the costs were not known, the Government is committed to providing support to those who need it.
Britain will host further talks on reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane with a coalition of countries next week.
The meeting will continue the Government’s efforts to restore freedom of navigation in the strait, which provides shipping routes for oil and gas.
It comes after the Prime Minister spoke to Donald Trump about the need for a “practical plan” to get ships going through the area amid suggestions Iran wants to charge vessels for passage.
US vice president JD Vance is in Pakistan for peace talks with Iran, although a 21-hour session ended without a deal being reached in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Writing in The Times, Ms Reeves said: “I am going to be straight with people… the war in Iran will come at a cost to British families and business.
“These are not costs I wanted, but they are costs we will have to respond to. As Chancellor, I have vowed that my economic approach to this crisis will be both responsive to a changing world and responsible in the national interest.
“We don’t yet know the full scale of those costs, but the immediate priority must be to ensure that the ceasefire holds.
“That is the best protection we have against higher costs at home and at the IMF meetings in Washington this week I will be working with allies on the action we can take to guarantee freedom of navigation, including the Strait of Hormuz, to keep energy supplies moving again.
“But I know rising prices are being felt now. So, we are taking action to keep costs down for families and provide support for those who need it most.”
Gas prices have risen sharply during the ongoing closure of the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil was transported prior to the US and Israel’s decision to attack Iran.
“I know that rising energy bills are not only felt by households,” Ms Reeves added. “They are felt by business too, including the UK’s manufacturing sector that has faced uncompetitive energy prices for too long.
“So later this week I will be setting out the next phase of our plans to boost Britain’s competitiveness. I will also set out the principles that will guide how we support businesses in the months ahead.”
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Trumps war.
Jesus H.
Call it what it is.
They sent Vance and two real estate builders to be diplomats, what the hell did they think was going to happen when that couch worrier said “refused to accept our terms”.
Jet fuel about to run out as well. We should be limiting now, not hoping Trump has a brain.
Unlock the green incentives for more people. We cannot afford not to go net zero now.
What do you use at night when the wind doesn’t blow?
He produces plenty of his own wind!
Can’t help you if you cannot work it out.
Was that a genuine question?
Please tell me you understand how storage works in the UK.
If a war broke out on a planet millions of miles away the prices would go up in the UK. Any excuse will do to fill the need of greed.
Reeves and Co should get off their backsides and organise controls on the supply of fuels, even rationing and limits on prices. Big retailers have gone for price gouging like a bunch of seagulls after your fish and chips.
Only if that planet was supplying our energy.
To cope with the state of our economy, now made ten times worse because of Trump, Reeves will need to relax her fiscal rules that no longer reflect the position we are in now. An increase in Income Tax for everyone, and new tax bands and higher rates for the wealthiest.
Cuts in budgets will not supply the amount required to keep us afloat, but would be more likely to stymie recovery.