Healey's Price Warning Risks Row With Retailers
The Chancellor’s warning that shoppers are being “taken for a ride” on food and fuel prices risks sparking an open row with retailers, according to reports, as the industry bristles at the accusation of profiteering. John Healey has promised to stop supermarkets and petrol firms “ripping off” the public, part of a wider push on the cost of living. Retailers reject the charge, pointing to thin margins and high costs.
The clash sets up an early test of how far the government is willing to lean on private business to ease household bills. Ministers have long suspected that falling wholesale costs are not being passed on at the pump and the till, but proving it — and doing something about it — is another matter. Retailers warn that tough talk risks deterring investment and misreads the pressures they face. With a tight Budget limiting what the Chancellor can give away, the politics of blame may prove tempting. Watch whether the rhetoric hardens into regulation or fades.