UK fuel costs threaten government stability as Middle East tensions spike crude prices. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government faces mounting pressure as surging oil prices undermine efforts to cut living costs and control inflation. The Bank of England had forecast consumer price inflation falling to 2.1% by the second quarter, but geopolitical conflict now threatens those projections. The political sensitivity runs deep. A fuel duty freeze implemented 15 years ago has cost the Treasury tens of billions in foregone taxes, yet no government dares reverse it after the 2000 fuel crisis nearly paralyzed Britain. That crisis saw farmers and hauliers blockade refineries, forcing school closures and supermarket rationing.
