Fuel, food and fertiliser fallout from Strait of Hormuz closure will last months

Foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said on Monday that the fuel, food and fertiliser fallout from the Strait of Hormuz closure will compound for months following the disruption.

Events in the Strait of Hormuz remind us that we’re in a new era of geoeconomics, where economic security must be at the top of our foreign policy agenda.

My words in @TheEconomist ⬇️ https://t.co/mJtTk1n2uq

— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) April 27, 2026

Yvette Cooper excludes key points in her column

In her op-ed, the Labour Together-endorsed candidate blamed Iran for the closure, erasing the US and Israel’s role in starting the illegal war on Iran. She also failed to mention the UK’s role in assisting Trump’s deranged war.

Her comments follow reports in the Mail on Sunday that food and pharmaceutical shortages could hit UK households within weeks due to the Strait of Hormuz disruption, and that the government was busy with the Starmer-Mandelson scandal.

Crippling fuel and medicine shortages could hit UK households within weeks ‘because No 10 is too distracted by Starmer’s leadership crisis to deal properly with Iran fallout’ https://t.co/3WFDSqQ28a

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) April 25, 2026

One government source involved in emergency contingency planning told the Mail on Sunday that airlines can only maintain their current level of consumption for another three weeks as their stockpiles dwindle.

Brits are already feeling the consequences

Data shows that the UK is already feeling the hit. Retail sales have collapsed at their steepest pace since records began in 1983, a devastating Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey revealed this week. The CBI’s monthly retail sales volume measure plunged to -68 in April, down from -52 in March, with 77% of firms reporting that sales were lower than a year ago.

UK retail sales tumble by most in over 40 years, CBI survey shows https://t.co/0ronseduN2 https://t.co/0ronseduN2 pic.twitter.com/XZH4S8aOT9

— Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) April 27, 2026

Meanwhile, civil society is mobilising. More than 50 organisations, including the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, Greenpeace and trade unions, have signed the Make Green Fair open letter, demanding the government guarantee every UK household a fair share of renewable energy benefits.

With energy prices surging again due to the war on Iran, campaigners warn that fuel poverty will deepen unless Ed Miliband acts now.

Miliband announced an “era of clean energy security” last week, promising to “significantly expand the pipeline of renewables”.

The Government’s measures to deal with the coming energy shocks are baby steps says Ruth of Fuel Poverty Action @FuelPovAction
🎥 @financialeyes pic.twitter.com/FxIHMJkJuk

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) April 27, 2026

Miliband’s promise is welcome as fossil fuel companies like BP are expected to enjoy “exceptional” profits from trading this quarter, while the rising prices are passed on to consumers.

Missing from both Cooper and Miliband’s framing, however, is the money flowing into the war itself — the very war that has led to this economic crisis and now threatens to trigger a severe economic fallout in the UK.

Early on Monday, data showed that European NATO countries’ military spending had rapidly increased in 2025.  Without tackling the US-led aggression on West Asia, South America and elsewhere, how can these politicians expect us to believe they want to shield us from the fallout of the very instability they are encouraging?

Featured image via the Canary