We expect government help in a crisis. Will Reeves intervene on energy bills?published at 08:55 GMT
08:55 GMT
Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Image source, PA Media
How big is the blowback from the Iran conflict likely to be on us? “Insanely profound,” answers one government source. “Huge,” says another.
Which begs the question: what are the prime minister and chancellor going to do about it?
This week Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed working families were always at the top of the list. It is possible that a crippling spike in energy costs is on the way.
So are we careering towards the government writing another enormous cheque to prop up families and firms in the name of a crisis?
When missiles started dropping a fortnight ago, Chancellor Rachel Reeves switched the focus of a weekend working on her planned Spring Statement to a weekend of starting to plot what the effect of a new conflict in the oil-rich Middle East might be, and what the government might consider doing in response.
Reeves soon asked her top official to create an Iran response board to pull together what the government could do to protect the economy from the worst possible effects of the war and spiralling oil prices – as well as families’ energy bills.
But how does the government protect consumers and companies if the price of oil stays sky-high for a long time?
