Starmer Urges UK Energy Independence Amid Iran Crisis
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- Keir Starmer wrote in The Guardian that Britain has been 'buffeted by crises for nearly two decades' — citing the 2008 crash, Brexit and Covid — and said the Iran conflict 'must now become a line in the sand' for UK resilience policy
- Starmer told ITV's Talking Politics podcast he was 'fed up' with UK families seeing energy bills fluctuate 'because of the actions of Putin or Trump,' arguing the country needed 'energy independence'
- Starmer is on a three-day Gulf tour, having met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Wednesday before traveling to the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar on Thursday
- Starmer held a phone call with President Trump on Thursday evening, with Downing Street saying the two discussed 'a practical plan to get shipping moving' through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed by the conflict
- Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, in a Mansion House speech, called the Iran crisis 'the third time in six years' global events sent economic shockwaves to Britain — after Covid and the Ukraine invasion — declaring 'turbulence is the new normal'
- The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up petrol and food prices in the UK, and a fragile ceasefire in the Iran conflict is under strain over disagreements about whether it covers Lebanon
- Opposition parties split on the response: Tory chair Kevin Hollinrake attacked Starmer for 'banning North Sea drilling,' Lib Dem Calum Miller said the government should rebuild ties with Europe since 'we can't trust a Trump-led America,' and the Green Party said Starmer's words 'are not a plan'
Why it matters: Starmer is using the Iran conflict — which has already raised UK petrol and food prices via the Hormuz closure — to justify a domestic policy programme spanning renewables investment, workers' rights and scrapping the two-child benefit cap, while simultaneously seeking Gulf cooperation on energy shipping. The cross-party response reveals no consensus on how to achieve resilience: Conservatives want more North Sea drilling, Lib Dems want European re-engagement, and Reform wants border and energy control.
