Starmer says ‘every lever’ will be explored to ease rising costs of living from Iran conflict

PM will chair Cobra meeting with key ministers and Bank of England on Monday, as experts warn of economic shock

Keir Starmer has promised to look at using “every lever that’s available to the government” to help people cope with the impact on the cost of living of the US-Israel war against Iran, as he prepares for an emergency meeting with senior ministers.

The prime minister will chair a meeting of the Cobra committee to discuss possible contingency measures on Monday afternoon, joining Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to a school in London, Starmer said he wanted to reassure Britons that everything was being done to mitigate the economic effects of the conflict, which has resulted in energy prices soaring and the cost of government borrowing also rising.

“Cobra is the opportunity at the highest level to bring people together on matters of real, significant national importance,” Starmer said.

“Obviously, Cobras are usually used for military considerations, consular considerations, but I think with the Iran war, most people are very concerned now, not only what they’re seeing on their screens in relation to the conflict itself, but also that question of ‘How is it going to affect me and my family?’

“And so today we’re looking at the economic impact, and I am asking for every lever that’s available to the government to deal with the cost of living to be discussed at Cobra. Hence we’ve got the Bank of England and others there.

“But I want to make sure that when it comes to the cost of living, we’re doing everything we possibly can at a very difficult period like this.”

Downing Street, however, downplayed suggestions that Reeves would announce financial support for struggling households after the meeting.

Instead, discussions were expected to focus on assessing the economic impact of the conflict, preventing shortages – including fuel – and pressing regulators and business to stamp out profiteering.

“Obviously for many people, when they watch the conflict on their TV screens, they question how it’s going to affect themselves and their family, and that’s why we’re convening this meeting to look at the economic impact,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said.

Economists and energy experts have warned that the effect of the conflict, begun by the US and Israel launching air and missile strikes on Iran, could be similar or greater to the 1970s oil price shocks and the effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In response to the attacks, Iran has aimed missiles and drones at military and infrastructure targets in the Middle East and beyond, and effectively blocked the strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and gas heading to Europe, for most shipping.

In what appeared to be a significant de-escalation on Monday, the US president, Donald Trump, extended by five days his deadline to strike Iran’s power stations and energy infrastructure if Tehran did not allow shipping to move freely, claiming the US and Iran had held “very good and productive conversations” on an end to the conflict.

No 10 welcomed the prospect of any breakthrough, with Starmer’s spokesperson adding: “We’ve always said that swift resolution to the war is in global interests, and the strait of Hormuz specifically needs to be reopened.”

Starmer spoke with Trump on Sunday night in a 20-minute call Downing Street described as constructive, while giving few details.

“What we need here is de-escalation and that’s why we had a statement from a number of countries last week about what we need to do about the strait of Hormuz, which obviously needs careful co-ordination and a viable plan, but it’s very important, we defend our interests, we defend British lives, but without getting dragged into the war,” Starmer said on Monday morning.

Starmer has distanced the UK from a conflict which, polling shows, is generally very unpopular with the domestic public. He refused the US permission to use UK air bases for the initial attack, and has since only allowed this for strikes on Iranian missile bases, not other targets.

This has annoyed the US president, who has repeatedly criticised Starmer and mocked him for lacking decisiveness. Before the pair spoke, Trump posted a video on his Truth Social site of a sketch from the new UK version of Saturday Night Live, which portrayed Starmer as being scared of talking to the president.

Downing Street did not say whether Starmer had seen the clip. “The prime minister is entirely focused on the job at hand. He obviously had a good conversation with the president, where they discussed the conflict and reopening the strait of Hormuz,” the spokesperson said.

No 10 also played down the prospect of long-range missile attacks on UK soil, after reports at the weekend that followed an Iranian attempt to hit the British base at Diego Garcia. “There is no assessment that Iran is trying to target Europe with missiles. But even if they did, we have the military capability we need to keep the UK safe,” they added.