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Chancellor commits to new anti-profiteering powers and fights back on rising bills

ended 20. May 2026

Working people will be protected from unfair price rises as the Chancellor clamps down on firms who rip off their customers, the Government announced today.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:  "When global events drive up costs, working families feel it first. I will not tolerate anyone exploiting a crisis to make a quick buck off the back of hard working people. We are backing families, backing fairness, and building a stronger and more resilient economy through our long-term economic plan.”  

A few Qs:

  • Is this good news and will it amount to anything in practice?
  • While price-gouging is clearly unfair, is the average UK business being gouged by the Government itself in the form of higher taxes?
  • Can Reeves genuinely claim to be building a stronger and more resilient economy?
  • Are these policies and initiatives a way to deflect attention from poor economic and fiscal management? 

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
More hot air and common sense nonsense from the Chancellor and Labour. Where there are shareholders to satisfy, this will be the priority. The bitter irony is the increased tax charged on the costs of everyday affected items such as fuel. Where most other governments have reduced/frozen tax, she has chosen to ignore this. The economy is fragile and the Chancellor is weak.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
Maybe if the Chancellor had actually facilitated a stronger economy, people might have been less impacted by potential short-term shocks. Consumers have long memories when people try to take advantage of the situation. The Chancellor needs to focus on how she can improve the lives of the UK population through economic growth and by understanding the needs of SMEs. Something she has not demonstrated so far.
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Paul Denley
CEO at Oakham Wealth Management
The principle sounds reasonable. Few would defend firms exploiting a crisis to raise prices unfairly. The problem is execution. Distinguishing genuine price gouging from normal market forces is far harder than this announcement implies. Energy costs, wages, supply chains and currency movements feed through differently across sectors. What looks like profiteering may simply reflect firms rebuilding margins after years of pressure.

There is also a striking irony. Many businesses already feel squeezed by the state through higher National Insurance, business rates and the Employment Rights Bill. Being told not to pass on costs while absorbing more of them is a difficult message to swallow.

The deeper risk is that crackdowns become political theatre rather than serious economics. The real question is whether this is about protecting consumers, or diverting attention away from a cost of living problem that remains unresolved.
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Colette Mason
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
The government promised to ban ticket touting in its 2024 manifesto. Oasis dynamic pricing came and went, enraging gig-goers. Two years, one consultation, and a letter from half the music industry later, the King's Speech delivered a draft bill, not legislation, just more consultation.

Now, it announces anti-profiteering powers to stop businesses raising prices unfairly. The pattern is familiar: promise big, legislate slowly, announce again.

Meanwhile, the government hiked employer NICS from 13.8% to 15% and dropped the threshold from £9,100 to £5,000, nearly tripling NIC costs for some part-time workers. Businesses passed 60% of that straight to consumers through higher prices.

GDP growth forecast for 2026 has been cut. Vacancies are at their lowest since 2021, with 2.5 unemployed people per opening. Cracking down on profiteering is reasonable. Doing it while pretending your own tax rises didn't push prices up proves the government has more front than Blackpool.