Retailers’ meeting with Chancellor on cost of living hailed as constructive
Supermarket chiefs met with Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday to discuss the cost of living amid the impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The discussions were described as constructive.
Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband held the meeting with leaders from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi.
Subscribe to TRBA government spokesperson said the participants had agreed to work together to explore what more can be done to ease the cost of living and strengthen supply chains.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said the meeting was constructive, adding that “while some inflation is inevitable, there a domestic policy levers that government can pull in order to mitigate some of the inflationary pressures”.
The news comes as the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) revised its food inflation forecast upwards and now expects it to reach over 9% by the end of the year.
The FDF said the update is based on assumptions that the Straits of Hormuz opens within two to three weeks and energy production in the Middle East returns to normal within a year.
The organisation had previously forecast that the rate of food inflation would gradually ease in 2026, ending the year around 3%.
