UK ministers begin contingency planning amid economic fears over Iran war

## Summary
Photograph: Reuters UK ministers begin contingency planning amid economic fears over Iran war Anger grows within cabinet over impact of war begun by Donald Trump, who branded Nato allies ‘cowards’ Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump has branded the UK and other Nato allies “cowards” but anger is growing among cabinet ministers that his war in Iran could jeopardise Britain’s fragile finances. Posting on his Truth Social platform, he wrote: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran. “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it – The United States does not!” The prospect of a global energy shock and further increases to the cost of living comes at a critical time for Starmer and Rachel Reeves in the run-up to May’s local elections, when the government had hoped to emphasise the improving economy. Downing Street sources said the economic situation was “extremely challenging” but they hoped Starmer would get the credit for resisting Trump’s war on Iran and focusing on the cost of living, and that people would see it was an international crisis. But with fuel prices and mortgage rates already rising, and worse potentially to come, a government minister conceded: “It’s jam postponed, once again.” Explore more on these topics Economic policy US-Israel war on Iran Iran Strait of Hormuz Middle East and north Africa UK cost of living crisis Energy bills news Share Reuse this content

## Article Content
The UK has authorised the use of British military bases to strike Iranian missile launchers targeting cargo ships in the strait of Hormuz.
Photograph: Reuters
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The UK has authorised the use of British military bases to strike Iranian missile launchers targeting cargo ships in the strait of Hormuz.
Photograph: Reuters
UK ministers begin contingency planning amid economic fears over Iran war
Anger grows within cabinet over impact of war begun by Donald Trump, who branded Nato allies ‘cowards’
Middle East crisis – live updates
Donald Trump has branded the UK and other Nato allies “cowards” but anger is growing among cabinet ministers that his war in
Iran
could jeopardise Britain’s fragile finances.
Senior members of the government are in despair about the potential effects on the economy, with experts warning of higher energy prices and increased mortgage and borrowing costs.
They have already begun contingency planning in case the conflict is protracted, including considering lowering speed limits to minimise fuel consumption.
With the conflict continuing to escalate, the UK confirmed it was authorising the use of British military bases to strike Iranian missile launchers that are targeting commercial ships in the strait of Hormuz. Previously, UK bases were only being used to strike Iranian sites targeting British allies and interests in Gulf states.
Trump said on Friday night the move came “very late”, adding: “They should have acted faster.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on social media that Keir Starmer was “putting British lives at risk by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”.
Is it time for the UK to acknowledge the ‘rhetoric to reality gap’ on its military power?
Read more
The change is unlikely to make a significant difference to the conflict, leaving ministers scrambling to map out worst-case scenarios for the economy.
The Treasury has set up an “Iran board” of ministers and officials that is considering a range of potential options, which government sources say include a universal bailout for energy bills. This would be a “last resort” if global prices remained high.
There is anger among some ministers towards the US president, who posted on Truth Social on Friday that
Nato allies were “cowards”
for refusing his calls to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, claiming it would be “so easy for them to do, with so little risk”. No 10 declined to comment on the insult.
But on Friday night, Trump said the US was considering “winding down” military operations in Iran. Posting on his Truth Social platform, he wrote: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran.
“The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it – The United States does not!”
The prospect of a
global energy shock
and further increases to the cost of living comes at a critical time for Starmer and Rachel Reeves in the run-up to May’s local elections, when the government had hoped to emphasise the improving economy.
Reeves, the chancellor, is facing pressure on multiple fronts after the cost of government borrowing rose to its
highest level since the 2008 financial crisis
on Friday, and analysts said the markets were predicting interest rates of 4.5%, which would raise the cost of mortgages.
In the face of oil supply shortages caused by the closure of the strait of Hormuz, the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggested the world should use ovens less and cut back on car usage to increase resilience.
Forecasts suggested household energy bills
could increase by £330 a year
to almost £2,000 from this summer after the war pushed the UK’s gas market past three-year highs, according to Cornwall Insight.
With the UK’s economic reset under threat, Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, raised the idea of loosening the fiscal rules that restrict borrowing earlier this week, while others on the
Labour
backbenches were also pushing for a change in direction and radical tax reform.
Downing Street sources said the economic situation was “extremely challenging” but they hoped Starmer would get the credit for resisting Trump’s war on Iran and focusing on the cost of living, and that people would see it was an international crisis.
One said: “It is frustrating, but it does show we were right to go into the year with a cost of living focus. It is so annoying when inflation was coming down and energy bills were falling by £117, we would all rather it hadn’t have happened. But if we hadn’t done that, we would be in a much worse position now.”
Multiple Whitehall officials said it would be clearer within about two weeks whether the war had de-escalated enough to avoid having to offer households support with their energy bills – whether that be a package targeted at the vulnerable or a more universal version, similar to the bailout due to th

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Read more The change is unlikely to make a significant difference to the conflict, leaving ministers scrambling to map out worst-case scenarios for the economy.

### Areas for Consideration
- Trump said on Friday night the move came “very late”, adding: “They should have acted faster.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on social media that Keir Starmer was “putting British lives at risk by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”.
- Is it time for the UK to acknowledge the ‘rhetoric to reality gap’ on its military power?
- There is anger among some ministers towards the US president, who posted on Truth Social on Friday that Nato allies were “cowards” for refusing his calls to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, claiming it would be “so easy for them to do, with so little risk”.

### Implications
- Photograph: Reuters UK ministers begin contingency planning amid economic fears over Iran war Anger grows within cabinet over impact of war begun by Donald Trump, who branded Nato allies ‘cowards’ Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump has branded the UK and other Nato allies “cowards” but anger is growing among cabinet ministers that his war in Iran could jeopardise Britain’s fragile finances.
- Trump said on Friday night the move came “very late”, adding: “They should have acted faster.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on social media that Keir Starmer was “putting British lives at risk by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”.
- Read more The change is unlikely to make a significant difference to the conflict, leaving ministers scrambling to map out worst-case scenarios for the economy.
- Posting on his Truth Social platform, he wrote: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran. “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it – The United States does not!” The prospect of a global energy shock and further increases to the cost of living comes at a critical time for Starmer and Rachel Reeves in the run-up to May’s local elections, when the government had hoped to emphasise the improving economy.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers energy, iran, war topics. Notable strengths include discussion of energy. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1372.