The Government needs to batten down the hatches and get a plan in place for the economic fallout from the US-Iran war - Ismail Mulla

The Strait of Hormuz has become the straitjacket of Hormuz with the supply of oil and gas being choked off.

This will inevitably have an impact on energy costs here. Other supply chains are also seeing disruption.

All of this points to an increase in the cost of living. Supermarkets will have to pay more to keep the lights on and source products. Costs that will be passed onto the consumer.

The warning signs are already there. On Sunday, Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas, said global oil supplies are down 20 per cent because of the conflict.

He told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “Cornwall Insight, I think, have predicted that there’s going to be an increase in prices.

“If it stays as it is then I think that’s inescapable.

“The world uses about 100 million barrels of oil a day. We’ve lost about 20 per cent of that through the Strait of Hormuz.”

There is a fear that people will start panic buying fuel as a result of the current war in the Middle East. Leading to Housing Minister Steve Reed urging people to “buy their fuel just like they always would”.

He said: “There’s no need to ration fuel. People should go around and buy their fuel just like they always would.

“If the situation were to change, then the Government would look at what was required in that circumstance.

“We did intervene when it came to heating oil, because we saw the prices escalating and people were seeing their bills doubling and tripling overnight. We can’t have that, so we stepped in to support people.”

But the longer this war drags on, the more widespread its impact. And the Government needs to be proactive rather than reactive.

That is why the call for an emergency taskforce, learning from the lessons of the Covid pandemic, to help protect the UK from the economic fallout of the US-Iranian conflict, should not be dismissed as an overreaction.

The TUC said ministers should urgently bring together employers and unions to discuss plans and contingencies amid rising energy prices.

Dealing with the crisis requires a “national, urgent and collaborative” approach across a range of sectors, said the union body.

The pandemic taught us that you can’t tackle a crisis in silos. Boris Johnson’s Government was found wanting because of a lack of cohesion.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has been a rudderless disaster thus far. Lurching from one crisis to another. Quite often of its own making.

However, if it is seen as moving too slowly to protect people from the blowback of the war in the Middle East then that will be curtains for his administration. Lets not forget, the PM made hay when he was Leader of the Opposition over the Tory failings during the Covid crisis.

The stench of hypocrisy would be far too much for the British public to bear.

But while we bear the economic consequences of this war, we must spare a thought for the people whose lives have been turned upside down after they were unwittingly left living under the cloud of conflict.

I’ve spoken to people out in the Gulf who, while they are grateful not to have been directly exposed to the bombardment, are living in daily fear for their lives.

Trump’s miscalculation has created even more volatility. And he now finds himself in a position where even he, with his brass neck, will not be able to bluff his way to a self-proclaimed victory. It’s a reminder of what happens when simpletons are bestowed power.

And the Middle East is now going to become an even more dangerous place than it was before Trump launched his misadventure.

That is why the Government needs to batten down the hatches because the storm doesn’t look like it's just passing.