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Keir Starmer has reiterated that the conflict in Iran is “not our war” and the UK is “not going to be dragged into it” as the government tries to protect households from the economic impact of the conflict.
Speaking on Monday, the Prime Minister said that he knew the war in the Middle East, triggered by US and Israeli attacks on Iran, was “causing huge concern” for the public.
“Therefore, it’s really important that I reiterate where I stand and where this government stands, because this is not our war and we are not going to be dragged into it,” he said.
Starmer has granted the US permission to use UK bases for what he describes as defensive strikes on Tehran. However, he has refused to commit Britain to deeper involvement, leading to repeated public criticism from US President Donald Trump.
Later on Monday, the PM will host a Downing Street round table with senior leaders from the energy, shipping, financial and insurance sectors, alongside the UK’s Commander Maritime Operations, who will set out the security picture in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East.
Iranian threats to attack ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of the most important trade routes in the world, have led to a spike in oil and gas prices since the conflict began.
Petrol prices in the UK have already been affected by the war, and the government is expected to announce financial support for households most exposed to rising energy bills.
However, there is now growing alarm over the impact on food prices, with fertiliser, crucial to food production, being impacted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Starmer was speaking to reporters at the launch of Labour’s local elections campaign in Wolverhampton.
The party is expected to face a bruising set of results when elections take place in English councils, Scotland and Wales on 7 May.
The PM has sought to make the Iran war a dividing line with his rivals, saying this morning that Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wanted to go “straight in with both feet into the war without thinking through the consequences”.
“It’s terrible judgement because taking your country to war is the single most important decision a prime minister can ever take.
“And if they had been in government, we would be in a war with no plan.”
Starmer, whose own leadership could come under pressure if Labour’s performance in May is as bad as many in the party fear, pointed to what the government was doing to protect households from cost-of-living pressures worsened by the Iran war.
The PM has indicated that he wants to take a targeted approach to protecting people from soaring energy bills.
Last week, he told MPs he was “acutely aware” of how much it cost the taxpayer when former prime minister Liz Truss gave blanket energy bill support in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Starmer also said this morning that he would chair another Cobra meeting on Tuesday to discuss the economic impact of the war.
However, he insisted that the advice to motorists is that there was “no need to do anything other than what is normal” amid warnings about fuel shortages.
On Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Sky News that drivers should “fill up as normal” and insisted that the government was “well prepared” for disruption.
