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News & Current Events Apr 13, 2026 at 12:18 PM

Middle East war will leave UK households £480 worse off this year, says thinktank

Posted by Kagedeah

Tory ex-chancellor Jeremy Hunt proposes ‘social tariff’ to help less well-off with energy bills
the Guardian
Tory ex-chancellor Jeremy Hunt proposes ‘social tariff’ to help less well-off with energy bills
Resolution Foundation backs plan to offset rising costs from Iran war likely to leave households £480 poorer
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53 Comments

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ahothabeth Apr 13, 2026 +36
"**Trumpflation!**"; as he likes to have named after him.
36
LowIQ45 Apr 13, 2026 +26
Did you even say thank you?
26
sixfoottoblakai Apr 13, 2026 +57
That sounds like a low estimate to be honest. All because Trump needed a war to distract from his close friendship and association with notorious nonce, Jeffrey Epstein.
57
IntelArtiGen Apr 13, 2026 +8
> That sounds like a low estimate to be honest. Clearly the big issue with these estimates for the year is that it's only April. The situation can still get way worse. Though it can probably not get much better considering some refineries have been badly damaged.
8
Krakajo Apr 13, 2026 +3
Even at current oil prices that estimate seems low
3
Llew19 Apr 13, 2026 +1
Winter didn't really kick in properly until mid December iirc (maybe I have my rose tinted glasses on? But my octopus app definitely says I spent far more on heating Jan to March than on October to December) So I can't wait for the massive winter gas prices 🙈
1
nyxie3 Apr 13, 2026 +3
Trump Tax. The stupidity and hatred from Republicans is a tax on the whole world.
3
Seacatses Apr 13, 2026 +10
It's more than that, my mortgage fix comes to an end soon. And at least I'm not one of those poor sods getting bombed.
10
thehelliam Apr 13, 2026 +4
Well £9.20 a week isn't great but it could be worse...
4
Strangedreamest Apr 13, 2026 +10
F*** Trump
10
Salford1969 Apr 13, 2026 +3
No worries, Trump says affordability is made up
3
caiaphas8 Apr 13, 2026 +2
We should send the bill to America. Get the Americans to pay for their stupid war
2
THEPIGWHODIDIT Apr 13, 2026 +6
I blame Israel, the USA, Trump and Epstein for this entire regional f*** up. Did I miss anyone?
6
008Zulu Apr 13, 2026 +21
Russia, they helped get Trump into office.
21
tapasmonkey Apr 13, 2026 +15
> Did I miss anyone? ...yes: all the smooth-brains who voted for Trump and who now only regret their decision because of petrol prices (and not because of all the kiddy-fiddling, war-crimes, illegal detentions, protester-murderings...)
15
IntelArtiGen Apr 13, 2026 +5
> who now only regret their decision because of petrol prices The fossil fuel industry voted for Trump, those people aren't going to lose with this situation, they probably won't regret.
5
CryptographerMore944 Apr 13, 2026 +9
Don't forget those who *didn't* vote at all. They share blame too.
9
bitknight1 Apr 13, 2026 +3
No they won't, all the maga cultist at my work are supporting this and calling for more wars.
3
Puzzman Apr 13, 2026 +1
Also those who didn’t vote democrats because of their Middle East policy?
1
xX609s-hartXx Apr 13, 2026 +2
It's not really Epstein's fault that Trump is doing everything to cover up what they did together...
2
THEPIGWHODIDIT Apr 13, 2026 +1
It is if it was Epstein's job to create the blackmail material to manipulate him right now
1
NextGur3758 Apr 13, 2026 +5
Iran
5
Manathar45 Apr 13, 2026 +5
How about the country that actually closed the strait of Hormuz?
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THEPIGWHODIDIT Apr 13, 2026 +4
The USA?
4
MoeSS-genY Apr 13, 2026 +2
So we are extra to fund elite class war... Which we did not ask for to begin with..
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Boys4Ever Apr 13, 2026 +1
That's all considering their dependency on foreign energy?
1
DomGhoul666 Apr 13, 2026 +2
how much usd is this? doesnt seem like that much, tho its 100% more than it needs to be.
2
Mother_Airline_6276 Apr 13, 2026 +1
But your “ I Did That!” Trump stickers while you can still afford them.
1
Mysterious-Oil-7094 Apr 13, 2026 +2
Thank you orange overlord.
2
barnfodder Apr 13, 2026 +2
That's pretty close to a month's rent or mortgage for a lot of folks. Certainly know it's more money that I'd like to be flushing down the drain. At least no one (except Melania for some reason) is thinking about the Epstein files...
2
Neither-Juice3504 Apr 13, 2026 -1
For people who pay 480 a month the yearly increase of their costs is probably 100 then
-1
Lpreddit Apr 14, 2026 +1
It would be cheaper if they bought Russian oil too. But they decided the lives of Ukrainian civilians are worth it, while the lives of Iranian civilians being ruined by the IRGC aren’t worth spending more for gas/oil.
1
virtual_adam Apr 13, 2026 -7
The price of not getting involved.
-7
HeartOfNem Apr 13, 2026 -8
Most people waste more than that every month on nonsense they don't need. What's your point?
-8
BilboDankins Apr 13, 2026 +5
That they no longer have that money to "waste" on the things that they enjoy. All worth it of course, Israel got what it wanted.
5
irreplacable_fker Apr 13, 2026 -8
And is the UK government doing for the crisis to stop? Nothing.
-8
CryptographerMore944 Apr 13, 2026 +9
What do you think the UK government should do? 
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Skinsarelli Apr 13, 2026 -5
Lower the massive fuel duty, do something to ease the stress of the common man/woman. Just sit up there in their ivory towers looking down, regardless of conservatives/labour.
-5
xX609s-hartXx Apr 13, 2026 +9
Lower taxes don't magically give you a bigger supply. And those higher costs aren't just about your car but for everything because transport and energy prices are skyrocketing as well.
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Skinsarelli Apr 13, 2026 -3
Well aware of that, but help you and me if the amount of tax we paid on certain things was reduced, even short term. And yes I understand the need for taxation but some of us criminally high. Around 60% of the cost of a litre of fuel goes directly to the treasury!
-3
LostnFoundAgainAgain Apr 13, 2026 +7
Okay so let's say the UK decides to cut fuel duty, and companies actually reflect that on the pumps (which is another issue as well), the UK government will need to find the money elsewhere, you can't simply cut tax without cutting spending or raising elsewhere which is an issue. The UK gets around 24 billion pounds a year from fuel duty, if we cut that by 50% temporarily which is probably the ball park figure if people were to actually feel the benefits, that's 12 billion pounds the government is going to need to make up for, that's a ridiculous amount of money even if it's just for 1 year, or even 6 months for 6 billion. We can't borrow because somehow the Tory party dedicated to cutting borrowing somehow left us in record amounts of debt. We can't raise tax because let's be real it would be political suicide, not to mention it would be useless because your moving cost of living from A to B, it would just be performative, so where left with cuts, which our services have already faced several cuts and it's only starting to turn a corner now after COVID. This isn't an easy thing you can fix, it's not a surprise the UK is consistently calling for calmer heads in this situation, the only choice we have in the UK realistically is to make cuts or raise tax, and it's not going to go down well.
7
Ultra_Metal Apr 13, 2026 -16
The war would end sooner if Starmer offered to help with the war effort, but he's too much of a Neville Chamberlain clone and likes to appease tyrannical regimes.
-16
caiaphas8 Apr 13, 2026 +6
The U.K. would not make America win the war quicker. It’s pretty clear that America is capable of winning, but they are led by an idiot with no plan
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captain_decaption Apr 13, 2026
Of course it would. The US is a democracy which cares about international opinion.
0
caiaphas8 Apr 13, 2026 +2
Haha no it doesn’t. America does whatever it wants and damn anyone else
2
captain_decaption Apr 13, 2026
no we don't. don't be an idiot.
0
caiaphas8 Apr 14, 2026 +2
The evidence suggests otherwise
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captain_decaption Apr 14, 2026
no it doesn't. Have a little humility.
0
caiaphas8 Apr 14, 2026 +3
America has started multiple wars, and repeatedly keeps threatening people. This has been ongoing for decades, they clearly do not care what other people think of them. If they did, they would choose the path of peace, democracy and freedom
3
Ultra_Metal Apr 14, 2026 -1
The UK could provide troops and more bases in the region which would certainly speed up the operation. America is capable of winning on its own, but winning faster will save more Iranian civilians from tyranny, mass murder, torture and r***. The notion that there was no plan is ridiculous. The Pentagon has been planning for this for decades.
-1
caiaphas8 Apr 14, 2026 +1
Why would we want to help America? We are sick of being dragged into your disgusting wars
1
Ultra_Metal Apr 15, 2026 +1
Because the US is the only country that can defend Europe from Russia as a result of the weakness of European leaders who refused to spend enough on their own defense for decades. Europe's leaders have been negligent and made Europe dependent on the US for defense. Now they have to help the US or the US won't defend them anymore.
1
MericJsuTaek Apr 13, 2026 +2
The only regime the UK is appeasing is the USA
2
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