UK Supermarkets Reject Government Push for Voluntary Grocery Price Freeze
BBC Business reported Wednesday that UK government ministers have been privately urging major supermarkets to voluntarily freeze prices on key food staples. The products reportedly targeted include milk, bread and eggs. In exchange, retailers were offered regulatory relief on packaging rules and potential delays to healthy food legislation. No mandatory grocery price cap is planned.
Ministers Confirm Talks But Rule Out Compulsion
Treasury Secretary Dan Tomlinson confirmed discussions with retailers had taken place. He framed them as conversations about industry support for households facing rising costs. Tomlinson was clear that Westminster would not legislate to force price controls. Government sources also confirmed no food price measures would feature in a cost-of-living announcement expected Thursday.
The proposals drew an immediate and sharp response from senior retail figures. Marks and Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin called any government move to cap food prices “completely preposterous.” He argued ministers should instead cut the tax and regulatory burden on a sector he described as already highly competitive.
Industry Veterans Call the Idea Dangerous
Former Ocado chairman and Conservative peer Lord Stuart Rose was equally blunt. He told BBC Radio 4 that the plan was “the stuff of nonsense” and warned it “smacks of state control.” Former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King called the proposals “pretty silly” and flagged potential competition law complications. He also accused the Treasury of hypocrisy, arguing that government policy was itself contributing to food inflation.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, warned against importing what she called “1970s-style price controls.” She argued that the UK already boasts the most affordable grocery prices in Western Europe, a product of fierce supermarket competition. A government source dismissed her remarks as “hysterical.”
Background: Food Inflation Accelerating
The row arrives as food price pressures are mounting again. Official figures released this week show food inflation running at 3% annually in April, above the broader 2.8% rate. Some industry groups warn that figure could approach 10% by year-end. Analysts point partly to elevated fertiliser and animal feed costs, compounded by disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz following regional conflict. The Scottish National Party has separately pledged a mandatory grocery price cap in Scotland, going further than anything currently proposed in Westminster.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey offered a measured view. He acknowledged a voluntary scheme could deliver short-term relief but cautioned it would prove unsustainable over time.
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