London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Boris Johnson dismisses fears over tough winter

Boris Johnson dismisses fears over tough winter

Boris Johnson has said people should not worry about putting food on the table this winter, amid surging energy prices and a cut to universal credit.

The prime minister told BBC News: "I don't believe people will be short of food - and wages are actually rising."

It comes after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng warned some households face a "very difficult winter".

Energy and food bills are rising due to a spike in global gas prices - and many families face a £20-a-week benefit cut.

The cost of protecting customers from failing energy providers could lead to higher bills, the boss of the energy regulator Ofgem has warned.

Speaking to the BBC in New York, where he has been meeting world leaders at the United Nations, Mr Johnson said the surge in energy prices was a "short-term" problem caused by "the global economy coming back to life" after the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are talking to the energy companies - doing what we can to keep prices low, to make sure that the supermarket shelves aren't empty," he said.

Carbon dioxide deal


Households across England, Scotland and Wales are set to see their energy bills rise by an average of £139 a year in October.

Workers also face a rise in National Insurance payments from next April, to help fund higher costs for the NHS and social care.

In his BBC interview, Mr Johnson insisted the gas price increase was an "interim" issue and the global energy markets would "rectify themselves".

Some supermarket shoppers have been met with empty shelves

It showed that the UK was right to be moving to renewable energy, he added.

The government is hoping to limit further energy bill rises by keeping a price cap in place, and also plans to help bigger firms take on customers from small suppliers that have gone bust.

Separately, the government says it has taken action to prevent supermarket shortages with a deal to restart production at CF Industries, the UK's biggest producer of carbon dioxide.

The gas is widely used by the food industry to prolong shelf life.

It is not clear yet what incentives the government have offered the firm.

Is Johnson out of touch over household bill fears?

Energy price rises have been as dizzying as New York's skyscrapers - but Boris Johnson was reluctant to acknowledge the squeeze on supply was anything more than a short-term problem.

The government has managed to broker a deal on CO2, but the pressure points this autumn go beyond that.

There are real fears at home about household bills, food supplies, and rising prices.

But Mr Johnson blamed the pressures on the pandemic, saying the issues were just in the "interim".

While he said the government would help where it could, he did not provide details of any further actions the government might take, placing his faith in the market to resolve the crunch and pointing to his energy "ten-point plan".

A long-term Whitehall plan may not be that much comfort to those worrying about paying higher bills right here and now.

Mr Johnson has again rejected calls from Labour and many Tory MPs to scrap the cut to the £20 a week top-up to universal credit, which some MPs have warned will push many working families into poverty.

Instead of keeping the top-up, which was brought in to help people through the pandemic, Mr Johnson said: "We think the best thing we can do is help people into high-skilled, high wage jobs, that is what is happening,

"Unemployment is falling very rapidly, jobs are being created, wages are rising.

"And rather than raising people's taxes to put more money into benefits, we want to see companies paying their workers more."

Labour held a debate in the Commons, calling on the government to halt the proposed cut to the universal credit top-up.

The party's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, said working families faced a squeeze on living standards this winter "on a scale not seen for a generation" - and it was down to government decisions, not an "unforeseeable series of unhappy accidents".

"Incomes are coming down, prices are going up - especially energy prices - taxes are going up, rents are going up, childcare costs are going up, fuel costs are going up, rail fares are going up.

"And with empty shelves in too many shops, restaurants closing because of meat shortages, and now refrigerant shortages putting Christmas at risk, it isn't just that people can afford less, there is also less to afford," she told MPs.

Speaking on BBC Two's Newsnight programme on Monday, the Conservative former Brexit Secretary, David Davis, warned there was a risk of a "cost of living crisis" for new Tory voters such as "the plumber, the bricklayer, the lorry driver".

He said his advice to Chancellor Rishi Sunak would be: "You think hard about the ordinary family's take-home pay and what they have to buy with it, because that will be a dictator of how people feel going in to the new year."



The prime minister says he does “not believe people will be short of food” amid reports of some empty supermarket shelves.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×