No fuel shortage in Britain, says minister, as Reeves prepares to set out economic response to Iran war – UK politics live

Energy minister Michael Shanks reassures drivers ahead of chancellor’s statement to MPsGood morning. At lunchtime Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will give a statement to MPs that will cover what the government is doing, and (more tentatively) might do, in response to the soaring global energy prices caused by the Iran war. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, also creating a global energy shortage, the Conservative government ended up spending £40bn supporting families and firms with energy bills over the following winter. Reeves’s problem is that she has not got £40bn spare. With spring upon us, and people starting to turn down their central heating, the issue may not seem particularly pressing in many households (although heating oil and petrol prices are already soaring.) But, by the end of this year, this could be the sort of colossal economic crisis that gets remembered for half a century.As Chris Mason explains in a good preview, Reeves is expected to cover three points. She is