{"id":6345,"date":"2026-04-29T09:36:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/particularly-badly-exposed-how-the-iran-war-is-hitting-the-uk\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T09:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:36:19","slug":"particularly-badly-exposed-how-the-iran-war-is-hitting-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/particularly-badly-exposed-how-the-iran-war-is-hitting-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Particularly badly exposed\u2019: How the Iran war is hitting the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>London, United Kingdom \u2013<\/strong> Recent headlines from British newspapers speak to different areas of tension in the UK due to the United States-Israel war on Iran: economic woes, political friction and worries about the country\u2019s readiness for the future, strategically and militarily, if the conflict persists.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, the Financial Times blared, \u201cConsumer confidence slumps to two-year low,\u201d as The Guardian reported, \u201cUK braces for price rises driven by Iran war as economic confidence plummets\u201d and \u201cUK prepared to deploy RAF Typhoons to keep Strait of Hormuz open after Iran war.\u201d Earlier this month, The Independent reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer risked US President Donald Trump\u2019s wrath as he \u201crefuses to let US use UK bases\u201d for strikes on Iran\u2019s infrastructure. And on Sunday, quoting a minister, The Times said the\u00a0 \u201ceconomic fallout from the Iran war\u201d would last at least eight months.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/27\/timeline-the-highs-and-lows-of-the-us-uk-special-relationship\">Timeline: The highs and lows of the US-UK \u2018special relationship\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/28\/oil-prices-rise-despite-irans-proposal-to-reopen-strait-of-hormuz\">Oil prices rise despite Iran\u2019s proposal to reopen Strait of Hormuz<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2026\/4\/28\/down-but-not-out-in-war-with-israel-hezbollah-shows-it-is-still-powerful\">Down but not out: In war with Israel, Hezbollah shows it is still powerful<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/28\/how-iran-has-changed-and-how-it-hasnt-in-two-months-of-war\">How Iran has changed, and how it hasn\u2019t, in two months of war<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Beyond the headlines is real public angst about what the war in Iran means on a human level and what the economic and political fallout may be.<\/p>\n<p>For Iranians living in the UK, there is a whole other level of worry.<\/p>\n<p>Omid Habibinia, a man in his 50s who was born in Tehran but moved to the UK 25 years ago, described the impact on him personally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince the first day of the war, connection has been cut off. I am witnessing the pain and suffering of those close to me, many of whom have no news of their families. Beyond the fact that around 90 million people inside Iran have effectively been imprisoned by the internet shutdown and millions more have been deprived of contact with their loved ones, the attacks on the country\u2019s critical infrastructure \u2013 alongside the killing and injury of thousands of civilians and the displacement of many \u2013 are deeply distressing to me,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>It seems clear that the impact will last long after the conflict has ended or at least a long-term ceasefire is agreed. There are worries of higher mortgage costs and higher food and fuel prices amid a continued cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at fund manager Aberdeen, said the UK economy is \u201cparticularly badly exposed to the Iran shock as a big energy importer with weakly anchored inflation expectations and an already soft labour market\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>For many people still recovering from the energy inflation shock that followed Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this is a hit to their household finances that is hard to manage.<\/p>\n<p>Although the government has urged people not to worry, sporadic queues at petrol stations and talk of a return to panic shopping seen during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic are commonplace.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"we-will-stand-by-working-people-starmer\">\u2018We will stand by working people\u2019: Starmer<\/h2>\n<p>Starmer formed an Iran crisis committee that met on Tuesday to persuade people that \u201cyou can be sure we will stand by working people in this crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He hinted that people might change their holiday plans and might already be cutting back on food.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we\u2019ll see how long the conflict goes on. I can see that, if there\u2019s more impact, people might change their habits, \u2026 where they go on holiday this year, what they\u2019re buying in the supermarket, that sort of thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Critics said the government\u2019s stretched finances mean it cannot afford the energy subsidy that may be needed. They have also lamented the government\u2019s reluctance to exploit the nation\u2019s untapped oil reserves in the North Sea. Experts disagreed on whether this would make any significant difference.<\/p>\n<p>Before the Iran war began, the UK economy was turning a corner. Inflation and fuel costs were falling, government borrowing was down and unemployment was falling.<\/p>\n<p>The hits to the UK population range from the relatively trivial to the potentially terrifying.<\/p>\n<p>London house prices have tumbled as sellers become nervous and buyers sit tight, but some observers have noted that they were overpriced in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Flights being cancelled due to a lack of jet fuel might be an inconvenience. Higher prices for fuel and food and then everything else are a major problem for those whose incomes are already stretched.<\/p>\n<p>Then there is the genuine fear of what a prolonged war could mean, such as a serious recession or military involvement.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Pugh, chief economist at the consulting firm RSM UK, said: \u201cThe Strait of Hormuz has effectively been shut since early March. The International Energy Agency called it the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Oil prices have spiked, gas prices are climbing and inflation fears are back. But the bigger risk is \u2018demand destruction\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemand destruction happens when high prices force people and businesses to buy less. We\u2019re seeing it already in fuel rationing in emerging market economies. It means fewer cars sold, fewer homes bought, fewer restaurant meals, fewer business investments and eventually fewer jobs. Because this crisis is about more than oil, demand destruction appears across the whole economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528500\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528500\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-03-07T133206Z_1353613146_RC2PZJAYKBM1_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRISIS-BRITAIN-PROTEST-1777374989.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"A man who described himself as a 'patriot counter-protester' and supports the U.S. and Israeli operation against Iran, wears a Union Jack-themed jacket while waving an England flag, as anti-war activists protest outside RAF Fairford, which hosts United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Fairford, Britain, March 7, 2026. REUTERS\/Toby Melville\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528500\">A man who describes himself as a \u2018patriot counterprotester\u2019 and supports the US-Israeli war against Iran demonstrates as antiwar activists protest outside RAF Fairford, where US Air Force personnel are stationed, in Fairford, England [File: Toby Melville\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Iran war arrived at a time when the UK population was already unhappy.<\/p>\n<p>A survey by the polling company IPSOS in December reported: \u201cThree quarters of Britons expect large-scale public unrest in 2026. 59 percent think there will be protests against the way their country is being run, highest in Peru (80%) and South Africa (76%). In Great Britain, 74% predict large scale unrest. Since 2019, three of the G7 countries \u2013 Great Britain, Japan (both+11pp [percentage points]) and United States (+10pp) \u2013 have seen a double-digit increase in the proportion that think there will be large-scale public unrest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bartholomew added: \u201cWith inflation rising and wage growth sluggish after a sustained period of very weak employment activity, real wages are likely to turn negative in coming months, adding a further headwind to the economy. So it\u2019s probably just too early for the full effects of the war to be felt or show up in the data yet. But one place the impact of the war is very clearly showing up is around the path of interest rates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is very likely that were it not for the war, the Bank of England would be cutting rates at its April meeting. Instead, the market is pricing in a series of rate hikes this year. For households that were hoping for mortgage rate cuts this year, the prospect of rates staying on hold is almost as painful as renewed hikes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>London, United Kingdom \u2013 Recent headlines from British newspapers speak to different areas of tension in the UK due to the United States-Israel war on Iran: economic woes, political friction and worries about the country\u2019s readiness for the future, strategically and militarily, if the conflict persists. On Thursday, the Financial Times blared, \u201cConsumer confidence slumps &#8230; <a title=\"\u2018Particularly badly exposed\u2019: How the Iran war is hitting the UK\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/particularly-badly-exposed-how-the-iran-war-is-hitting-the-uk\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about \u2018Particularly badly exposed\u2019: How the Iran war is hitting the UK\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}