Bomb alley: Iran is blockading the Starit of Hormuz, bombing any ships which try to pass through the bottleneck for world trade
Donald Trump’s war on Iran could cost British households £1,500 each this year if it is allowed to continue, according to reports today.
Fuel gouging: petrol has risen by at least 8p a litre, despite warnings against price gouging
With petrol prices at the pumps rising by at least 8p per litre by the weekend, despite government warnings against price gouging by energy firms, there are well-founded fears that as energy prices feed into the economy generally, prices of all products will increase, and there’s a real risk of Britain slipping into recession.
This morning, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced £53million in support for heating oil customers, while warning that energy suppliers engaged in price gouging will face legal action.
It comes after prices have almost doubled since the start of the conflict. “I’m announcing immediate support for vulnerable heating oil customers today, providing £53million for those households that are most exposed,” the Prime Minister said.
Around 1.7million households in the UK – including about two-thirds of those in Northern Ireland – rely on heating oil. Heating oil is not covered by Ofgem’s energy price cap.
Hotting up: domestic customers using oil to heat their homes have been hard hit by price rises. The price spike in 2022 was around the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Starmer said that reports that fuel companies have been cancelling customers’ orders and subsequently “jacking up prices” are “completely unacceptable”.
He added that a legal directive has been given to energy companies that they must ensure any money saved due to government intervention must be passed on to customers.
The domestic energy price cap on electricity and gas prices is expected to hold back increases in that sector for the next three months.
The London Standard has today quoted Paul Dales, from economic forecasters Capital Economics, predicting that the global emergency being dictated from a golf resort in Florida will cause higher energy bills and see mortgage rates increase.
Oil prices staying at $100 per barrel or more through the rest of the year would mean typical households having to spend £780 more on petrol, £163 on utilities and £516 more on their mortgage.
“However long it lasts, the bottom line is that if we are all paying more for petrol, utilities and our loans, then we all have less money to spend on the more enjoyable things in life,” Dales said.
The United States and Israel began bombarding Tehran on February 28, at first boldly claiming that this would cause “regime change”. Iran’s response has been to fire missiles and drones at targets across the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, often where the United States has military bases or interests. This has included hitting an RAF base on Cyprus.
Iran has also placed a total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, normally used by tankers carrying around one-fifth of the world’s production of oil and gas. In America, Trump’s response has been to remove an embargo on Russian oil and gas, what had previously been a major lever against President Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Putin is a major ally of Iran…
Further price increases at petrol pumps look inevitable. Mortgage rates have also started to rise sharply as City markets start to price in a much slower pace of interest rate cuts, to curb the new inflation surge unleashed by the energy crisis.
The Bank of England is likely to reveal this week that it has postponed any further interest rate cuts, after previously having been expected to deliver another reduction.
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It may be ‘Trump’s war’, but Iran and it’s terror proxies have been at war with us for years and years. Metropolitan Police and MI5 have disrupted over 20 alleged Iran-backed terror plots in the UK in the past year
The USA has been promoting terrorism for decades, in Latin America, Europe (you read that right) and the Middle East. Its proxy, Israel, is committing genocide. The Metropolitan Police is ignoring a dossier of evidence concerning war crimes committed by IDF members living in this country.
That’s not to downplay what the late Ayatollah did to Iranians and his regime tried to do to us, but it does put it into context.
And don’t forget Trump’s threat to invade Greenland
Yes, sadly, due to Trump’s illegal war against Iran, people will face extra bills in the UK. Sadly, Keir Starmer has yet to grow a spine, and has caved in to Trump’s demand to be allowed to use British bases to fly U.S bombing missions against Iran, this about turn by Starmer is bound to increase the terror threat to the UK from Islamic extremists. Iran poses no military threat to the UK and we should not be involved in this war in any way.