Four in five Britons worried Iran war will make food more expensive, poll finds | UK cost of living crisis
Four in five people worry the Iran war will make food more expensive, according to a new poll; Businesses have warned that the “window is closing” for ministers to cut energy costs for UK retailers.
Research by Opinium found that 80% of people are concerned about rising food prices that will result from retailers passing on cost increases to consumers, while 73% expect the conflict to push up prices of other products.
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has already caused oil and gas prices to rise, caused a crisis in the global fertilizer industry, and made transportation and distribution more expensive.
The impacts have so far been felt most acutely in sectors such as manufacturing and chemicals that use large amounts of gas. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced further support for bills for the most energy-intensive businesses in April but now faces fresh calls to cut costs for the food sector.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said the war was “increasing costs across the supply chain and families are right to be concerned”.
He said ministers should remove non-commodity energy costs for retailers, which are charges and fees that make up a large part of electricity bills for businesses.
“Other governments are already taking action,” he added. “Germany has reduced electricity costs for businesses by removing taxes from bills, and EU leaders are actively discussing similar responses to this crisis. The UK should move in the same direction, not using global instability as a cover for inaction on the costs it creates.”
The Opinium poll has suggested that the cost of living crisis will remain a key political issue beyond tomorrow’s local elections, finding that 81% of 2,000 people surveyed are worried about rising energy bills, 76% about petrol and diesel and 68% about tax rises.
All of these factors can contribute to rising food prices; The Bank of England predicts food inflation will rise to 7% by the end of the year due to high fertilizer, energy and transport costs.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 3.7% in March 2026, from 3.3% in the previous month, according to official data.
Supermarket bosses met with Reeves at the beginning of April to assess the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on the cost of living. Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts recently said capping energy prices for retailers was “the biggest thing the government needs to do to keep prices low”.
Uncertainty continues in the Middle East, where Donald Trump’s promise to use warships to open a route through the Strait of Hormuz to hundreds of ships stranded in the Gulf has brought the region to the brink of an all-out war again. Iran is trying to reimpose the blockade.
Research earlier this week found that food prices were on track to be 50% higher in November than they were in 2021, when the cost of living crisis began. According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think tank, climate and energy shocks have caused the growth rate of food prices to almost quadruple; costs rose at nearly the same rate in the five years as in the previous two decades.
Dickinson added: “Retailers are working hard to keep prices low but they can’t do it alone. Every cost the government chooses not to address is a cost that will end up in someone’s shopping basket. This is a political choice and ministers still have time to change – but the window for action is closing.”
A government spokesman said: “We are acting to protect people from possible increases in food prices. We have already suspended certain food tariffs and continue to work closely with industry to keep household bills low.”
