British households are bracing for a fresh wave of energy price hikes this autumn, with government officials, industry leaders, and political parties all weighing in on how best to cushion the blow from soaring oil and gas costs. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed that any forthcoming government support for energy bills, which have been pushed up by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, will be targeted based on household income. This marks a shift away from the universal support policies of recent years, as ministers seek to balance urgent cost-of-living needs against the health of public finances.
"We're looking at ways in which we can support people based on their household income," Reeves told BBC Breakfast on April 1, 2026, reiterating her commitment to learning from past mistakes. She pointedly referenced the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when, according to Reeves, "the richest, the best-off third of households got more than a third of the support. That makes no sense at all."
The urgency is palpable. Over the past month, wholesale oil and gas prices have soared, driven by severe supply disruptions stemming from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a key waterway responsible for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. As a result, while home energy bills are set to drop between April and June under Ofgem's current price cap, a significant jump is widely expected once that cap expires in July. Gas usage, typically lowest in the summer months, is expected to rise sharply in the autumn, just as new, higher prices kick in.
Reeves was clear that immediate relief for drivers—such as cuts to fuel duty or VAT on petrol—was not on the table, citing the need to avoid stoking inflation, raising interest rates, or risking higher future taxes. "I think people will want to know that as a government, we're not going to spend money that we don't have, risk putting up interest rates, which will affect people's mortgage costs, risk pushing up inflation again, which of course hurts everyone, and risk having to need higher taxes in the future to pay the money back that we would have to borrow to fund something like this," Reeves explained in her BBC interview, as reported by Reuters and the BBC.
The chancellor emphasized that the best way to bring prices down would be for the conflict to end and the Strait of Hormuz to reopen. "That is why Keir Starmer is absolutely right to not get us dragged into a war that we didn't start because of the impact it has on people here at home," she said, underlining the domestic consequences of foreign policy decisions.
Yet, for many, the prospect of waiting until autumn for meaningful support is a tough pill to swallow. Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman, Robert Jenrick, accused Reeves of "acting like a bystander" and questioned her understanding of the real-time struggles families are facing. "This isn't a debate for the autumn or some future date, it's now that people are suffering," Jenrick told the BBC, warning that forecasts point to energy bills going "straight up again" later in the year. He also argued that support should extend to middle-income families, "because it shouldn't always be about people on benefits."
Other political parties echoed the call for more decisive action. Liberal Democrat MP Callum Miller told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, "What households are crying out for up and down the country is some reassurance their government will stand behind them." Miller cautioned that "dither and delay by government will push households into difficult decisions and push the economy into recession." The Green Party, meanwhile, has proposed funding a freeze on energy bills by hiking taxes on capital gains and tightening the existing tax on energy firms’ profits. Plaid Cymru has called for broader direct support for households when bills rise above the current price cap, and supports long-term investment in renewables to break the link between electricity and gas prices. The Scottish National Party has gone further, arguing that Holyrood should have control over energy policy, with independence as the best route to lower bills in Scotland.
Against this backdrop, Reeves convened a meeting on April 1 with the bosses of the UK’s largest supermarkets—Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Morrisons—to discuss the broader impact of the Middle East conflict on the cost of living. The surge in energy, fuel, and fertiliser costs is not only affecting household bills but also threatening price rises and shortages of everyday essentials. According to a Treasury source cited by The Guardian, the meeting was "very much a fact-finding, open discussion" aimed at identifying potential supply squeezes and their likely effects in the coming months.
Industry voices have been loud and clear about the risks. Allan Leighton, executive chair of Asda, called on the government to "stand up and start doing stuff" to support farmers and ease fuel prices, warning that food prices would inevitably rise without intervention. Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s chief executive, offered a brief reprieve, noting that prices are unlikely to rise until the summer thanks to long-term contracts and existing fertiliser stocks. But UK farmers and producers have warned that, without government help and retailer cooperation, price rises and shortages are all but inevitable.
Some of the most immediate threats are to domestic growers of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and aubergines, who face the prospect of pulling their plants out of the ground due to higher energy costs. Lee Stiles, secretary of the Lea Valley Growers’ Association—an area known as London’s salad bowl—has called on the government to include glasshouse food producers on the list of "energy-intensive users" eligible for targeted support. "Growers have already bought plants and use labour to bring them up for three to four months so far. When you do the maths, they don’t add up. They would lose less money by sending workers home, pulling the plants out and turning off the boiler. They would still lose money but less. It’s not much of a choice," Stiles said, as reported by The Guardian.
Adding to the pressure, standing charges—the fixed daily cost added to bills for accessing the UK’s gas and electricity network—rose again on April 1, pushing energy bills even higher for both households and businesses. The British Poultry Council also raised alarms about supply chain disruptions and rising costs for oil, gas, fertiliser, and essential feed components, warning that some increases "will inevitably have to be passed on to consumers."
For now, the government points to measures such as a £117 cut from household energy bills, an increased legal minimum wage, and a £1 billion crisis and resilience fund for vulnerable households. But with the worst of the price hikes still to come, the debate over how to shield British families—especially those not on benefits—from the coming storm is far from settled. As the country waits for clarity on who will be eligible for targeted support, the pressure on ministers to act swiftly and decisively only grows.
With energy bills set to rise sharply in the autumn and the cost-of-living crisis deepening, all eyes are on the government’s next move. The decisions made in the coming months could shape the financial wellbeing of millions across the UK, as households, farmers, and businesses alike navigate an uncertain and turbulent economic landscape.