No fuel shortage in Britain, says minister, as Reeves prepares to set out economic response to Iran war
Good morning. At lunchtime Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will give a statement to MPs outlining the government’s current actions and potential future measures in response to the rising global energy prices caused by the Iran war. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which also triggered a global energy shortage, the Conservative government provided support to families and businesses with energy bills during the subsequent winter. Reeves faces the challenge of lacking £40bn in spare funds. With spring approaching and many households reducing central heating usage, the issue may not feel urgent for some, although energy prices are already surging. However, by the end of the year, this could escalate into a significant economic crisis.
As Chris Mason explains, Reeves is expected to address three key points. She will likely confirm the government’s intention to grant the Competition and Markets Authority new powers to address potential profiteering by oil companies. Additionally, she will affirm the government’s commitment to advancing nuclear power development to reestablish Britain as a leading nuclear nation, as stated in the Treasury’s overnight preview.
Furthermore, Reeves is expected to outline possible approaches to assist households with energy bills if deemed necessary when the current energy price cap expires at the end of June. She will not present a definitive plan at this stage, but will discuss principles guiding any future support, emphasizing targeted rather than universal assistance.
Michael Shanks, an energy minister, appeared on various media outlets this morning ahead of Reeves’s statement, emphasizing that drivers should not be concerned about fuel shortages. He told Times Radio:
[Drivers] should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment. We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally. There’s no issue at all with that …
People should go about their business as normal. That’s what the RAC and the AA have said. It’s really important people do that. There’s no shortage of fuel and everything is working as normal.
When asked if people should drive more slowly to conserve energy, Shanks responded:
Look genuinely, people shouldn’t change their behaviour or their habits in the slightest.
Ministers maintain there is no fuel shortage but are cautious in their messaging to avoid triggering panic buying.
Agenda for the day
- 9.30am: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.
- 9.30am: Executives from X, Meta, TikTok, and Google provide evidence to the Commons science committee on misinformation on social media.
- 9.45am: The Liberal Democrat leader launches the party’s local elections campaign in West Surrey.
- Morning: Kemi Badenoch visits the Jewish community in Stamford Hill, north London.
- 11.30am: Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, answers questions in the Commons.
- Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
- After 12.30pm: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, delivers a statement to MPs on the economic response to the Iran war.
- Afternoon: MPs debate a Tory opposition day motion calling for the abolition of the windfall tax on energy companies and lifting the ban on new North Sea oil and gas licences.
- 2.30pm: Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Jenny Chapman, the development minister, give evidence to the Commons international development committee.
- Afternoon: Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, visits Leeds and speaks to the media.
- At some point today, the business department will publish a written ministerial statement updating on the publication of documents related to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as a trade envoy.
If you wish to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. While I cannot read all messages below the line, including the word “Andrew” increases the likelihood I will see it as I search for posts containing that term.
For urgent matters, social media is preferable. I can be reached on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. has a presence on Mastodon, where individual journalists are active; I maintain my account and can be contacted at @AndrewSparrow.
I appreciate readers pointing out errors, even minor typos, and find your questions interesting. While I cannot reply to all, I will respond to as many as possible either below the line or in the blog.
Farage says Reform UK would repeal law banning younger generations from ever buying cigarettes
The tobacco and vapes bill, legislation that prohibits anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 from legally purchasing cigarettes, is nearing the end of its parliamentary passage. MPs rejected anti-government Lords amendments last night, and once the Lords pass the final version, it will become law. This legislation enjoys cross-party support, originally proposed by Rishi Sunak when he was prime minister. Only 47 MPs opposed the bill’s second reading in November 2024, including 35 Conservatives, 7 Liberal Democrats, and 4 Reform UK MPs.
However, Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, has stated that if elected, he would repeal the law. In an article, he argued the ban will not be effective:
Ask yourself this. How is the ban meant to work? Ten years from now, a 27-year-old will not be legally able to buy cigarettes, but a 28-year-old will be able to. A decade later 37-year-olds will not be deemed old enough to smoke, but 38-year-olds will be free to do so. And so forth.
The onus will be on the poor shopkeeper to identify those old enough to make a legal purchase. If he fails to carry out his duty as some kind of health policeman, he will be fined £200. How will he ensure that his customers are entitled to make a purchase?
Farage also expressed principled opposition to the legislation:
Britain was once held to be a beacon of freedom in the world. Now, as I observed in the Commons, the puritanical spirit of Oliver Cromwell again stalks the land. Our bossy, ruling elite’s default response to something is moving to ban it.
People who speak out against the woke orthodoxy infecting public and now private institutions can expect to have their collars felt. Minority pursuits, such as trail hunting, will be consigned to the history books and anyone who seems to be having fun in a way not approved of by the high priests of the progressive cathedral turns into a target.
Farage cited polling commissioned by the Freedom Association indicating that a majority of respondents who expressed a view considered the ban “unworkable.” However, other polls suggest differing opinions.
Labour was wrong to block Burnham from being candidate in Gorton and Denton, Lisa Nandy says
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, criticized Labour’s decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing as the candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election. In an interview with House magazine, she stated:
I think it is right that members are allowed to make their own choices about who they want to be their candidates in elections – I’ve always thought that right. And while I respect the views of colleagues on the national executive committee, had I been sitting in that seat – is that what you’re asking me, what I would have voted? – yeah, I would have voted to allow him to stand, as Lucy [Powell] did.
Nandy acknowledged the NEC’s rationale that Burnham should serve out his term as mayor of Greater Manchester but suggested that respecting internal party democracy was more important:
[Labour members] deserve to be in the driving seat of their own lives, and it offends me when people are not, and I think that goes for our members as much as everybody else.
Ed Davey attacks Reform UK for wanting to copy 'Trump's nasty politics'
Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, will position his party as opposing President Trump’s “nasty” politics during the launch of the local elections campaign this morning.
In excerpts from his speech released overnight, he criticized Reform UK for seeking to emulate Trump’s style:
Some politicians would rather divide our communities than fix them. They’d rather point the finger of blame than get their hands dirty. They want to import Donald Trump’s nasty style of politics over here.
That’s not who we are. We’re different. We don’t do division. We do potholes and police officers, doctors’ appointments and cleaning up dirty rivers. We do the hard work that actually makes people’s lives better.
The Liberal Democrats will change our politics so we can fix the country we love. Every vote for the Liberal Democrats in May is a vote for a strong local champion who will bring our communities together and get the job done.
In a briefing note, the Liberal Democrats stated:
Reform-led councils elected last year have mimicked the White House in dodging media scrutiny, with an unprecedented ban on local journalists in Nottingham. In Durham, they have scrapped renewables projects that would’ve saved taxpayers tens of thousands. Across the country, their Musk inspired Doge projects have failed to find savings, leading to Reform councils raising council tax despite promising to cut it.
Targeted energy support package 'most efficient use of public money', minister says
During his Times Radio interview, Michael Shanks, the energy minister, confirmed the government’s preference for a targeted energy bill support package aimed at those most in need rather than a universal scheme. He stated:
Genuinely we are looking at every option. Clearly part of that is, is there a way to target support at people who need it most? I think most people would recognise that as the most efficient use of public money but we also want to make sure that we’re not missing people …
But, in honesty, we’re three weeks into this conflict, although people are really worried there’s no certainty of how this is going to end or when and so we are looking really carefully at what that longer term support needs to be.
Ministers rebuff trade body’s call to boost North Sea oil and gas production
The UK government has rejected warnings from an energy trade body that failing to increase domestic North Sea oil and gas production will heighten the UK’s dependence on imports amid growing global instability, Jillian Ambrose reports.
