Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government Can the UK weather the Middle East storm?
Mar 20, 2026
Rosa Hodgkin, energy resilience expert, outlines limits of targeting and urgency on efficiency. Giles Wilkes, policy strategist, explains fiscal constraints and economic risks to growth plans. Hannah Keenan, civil service lead, examines coordination challenges and dangers of wholesale senior firings. They discuss energy shocks, demand reduction, renewables intermittency, resilience trade-offs, and practical near-term policy priorities.
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Lagging Electrification Leaves Households Exposed
- UK households are more exposed to oil price shocks because heat electrification and EV/heat pump rollout lag many European peers.
- Rosa Hodgkin warns Warm Homes Discount would miss many in need and better data is needed to target support rather than revert to universal payouts.
Blanket Bill Backstops Are Unaffordable And Counterproductive
- The government lacks fiscal space to repeat 2022-style blanket bill backstops without triggering market backlash.
- Giles Wilkes says bond markets would revolt and shielding prices removes incentives for efficiency improvements.
More Renewables Lower Exposure But Create New System Risks
- Renewables reduce gas used for power but increase system complexity and intermittency risks without non-gas baseload or storage.
- Rosa notes UK added wind/solar but lacks non-gas baseload like France's nuclear or Norway's hydro, so gas remains needed.