The Prime Minister held an emergency summit with the people who actually control Britain’s energy supply — and asked them for help. Bosses from Shell, BP, shipping giant Maersk, maritime insurance specialist Lloyd’s of London, and banks HSBC and Goldman Sachs were called to Downing Street on Monday for what Number 10 described as “frank and constructive discussions” about the economic impact of the Iran war.
The timing was not accidental. Diesel hit 182.7p per litre on Monday, according to RAC analysis — its most expensive since December 2022 and a 27% increase from the 142.4p recorded on February 28, the day the war began. Petrol stood at 152.9p. For hauliers, farmers, and anyone who heats their home with oil, the Iran war is no longer a foreign policy crisis. It is a household budget emergency.
‘The government can’t do it on its own’
Starmer told the assembled executives it must be a “joint effort” to tackle the impact of the conflict. That is a remarkable admission from a prime minister who came to power promising to take control. The subtext is clear: the government has neither the money nor the mechanisms to shield British consumers from a 50% spike in global oil prices, and it needs corporate Britain to absorb some of the pain.
The discussions focused on Iran’s ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted the world’s most important shipping chokepoint. Around 20% of global oil supply and a significant proportion of liquefied natural gas passes through the strait. With the blockade now in its fifth week, supply chains for oil, gas, fertiliser, and petrochemicals have been severely disrupted.
What Starmer wants
Number 10 is understood to have pressed energy companies on three fronts: maintaining fuel stocks at UK terminals, restraining wholesale price increases beyond the raw commodity cost, and cooperating with government on contingency planning for a prolonged disruption. Shell and BP were reportedly receptive but non-committal — the standard corporate response to being summoned by a prime minister.
The banking chiefs were asked about the availability of trade finance for energy imports and the stability of insurance markets for Gulf shipping. Lloyd’s of London has already raised war-risk premiums for vessels transiting the Persian Gulf by more than 300% since the conflict began, adding an estimated $2–3 per barrel to the cost of every cargo.
What Starmer can’t do
The elephant in the room is fiscal policy. Cutting fuel duty would provide immediate relief at the pump but blow another hole in Rachel Reeves’s already battered fiscal framework. Extending the household energy price cap beyond its current parameters would require primary legislation. And subsidising diesel for hauliers — as France, Spain, and Poland have already done — would cost billions that the Treasury does not have.
Starmer is trapped. The war he did not start is destroying the economic credibility he spent two years building. Every penny on the price of diesel is a penny off his approval rating. And the only people who can end the crisis — Donald Trump and whatever remains of Iran’s leadership — are not taking his calls.