Government asks retailers to voluntarily limit price rises on household essential, and protect income for Uk farmers.
Media: They want to order price caps!
NoTitleChamp on
What a coincidence, currently prices are also prepopsterous and idiotic.
parkchanwookiee on
Foxes say it would be dangerous to allow someone else to guard the henhouse
TLP666 on
The profits!!! Think of the profits!!
Our beloved shareholders!!!
We must let the people starve for we have a yacht and castle to pay for!!! What about us!!
jashford2 on
Tescos has really upped its profit margins but be real supermarket profits are wafer thin relative to the supply chain price increases + branded goods massive increases over the last few years
Bigbigcheese on
Price caps have always been the fastest way to create scarcity…
HotelPuzzleheaded654 on
There’s no margin in staple foods anyway so I don’t really see the point in caps.
Gary_S60 on
There is no proposed food price cap, just more power to investigate price gouging. However that phrase would not fit the “independent”.’s narrative.
Quagers on
Comments in this thread so far are deeply depressing. I’m convinced we’re completely cooked as a country because people are simply ignorant about how the world works and do not understand what a functioning competitive market looks like or why it benefits them.
Supermarket profits are wafer thin, prices have risen because costs (fuel, wages, etc.) have risen, artificially capping prices just results in shortages and scarcity. The UK supermarket is basically the posterchild of ruthless capitalist efficiency giving customers massive choice and low cost.
The fact that a significant proportion of the population apparently think that supermarkets have a 50%+ profit margin is terrifying.
thecarbonkid on
You’d be better off clamping down on the way supermarkets abuse their loyalty / membership schemes to drive up revenues.
Looks angrily at Tesco.
Firm_Advertising4183 on
The Uk supermarkets are ultra competitive already. I’d also add that food is not expensive.
This doesn’t mean I’m rich. It’s possible to feed yourself for a week to a low/okay standard for 3 hours work on the national minimum wage.
Where we are actually getting shafted is energy, house and water prices.
These three things governments actually have more control over and failed. The price of food on the other hand is a success story
Optimal_Ad_7593 on
I’m appalled at the economic literacy of the average redditor. I guess the days of socialism and communism are so distant now that many think they would be a good idea.
Unlucky-Jello-5660 on
I mean yeah, price caps on businesses with razor thin margins is disastrous, especially when overheads and supplier costs are rising aswell.
ash_ninetyone on
Most people would say marking up a product to be higher than its normal retail price, and then inventing some “loyalty card price” that is just the old regular price is preposterous and idiotic as well
michaelisnotginger on
It would be deeply deeply stupid and cause other issues on food prices
Particular_Tough4860 on
Reading the article, it sounds like the government are offering reduced regulation (and pausing planned regulation) in exchange for the supermarkets agreeing to use the savings to voluntarily keep prices of essentials down.
It is a million miles from price caps.
Derpolitik23 on
Wasn’t this tried in the 70’s, only to make things worse!?
Ok-Shopping9278 on
Margins may be small, but that doesn’t mean the profit is. Asking companies that provide essentials, to maybe cut their profit margins further temporarily should not be a thing that we are arguing against, surely…. People aren’t suggesting they operate at a loss, just rather than making £500 mil profit, make £250 mil profit, for the benefit of everyone for a change…
kore_nametooshort on
Price caps are absolutely idiotic. It shows a complete lack of any economic knowledge.
Limiting margin would be less terrible. Or the government could find some other mechanism to shift wealth into the hands of those who are feeling the pinch hardest.
deadeyes1990 on
Funny how the second someone says bread, milk and eggs maybe shouldn’t cost a fortune, supermarkets start acting like civilisation is about to collapse.
No one’s asking them to work for free. People are just tired of being told it’s “bad economics” to afford dinner while profits keep somehow surviving just fine.
If keeping basics affordable is “idiotic”, what do we call a country where feeding your family feels like a luxury?
Livingston_Diamond on
Hard to tell who is real and who is a bot/paid troll, from both sides, in this thread.
saugagentottiescone on
The government passing the buck again. Meanwhile there’s more talk of my energy prices rising and the government response is to freeze fuel duty hikes and not cut fuel duty.
MerakiBridge on
If the government is concerned about food prices why are they introducing the grocery tax at the same time?
KernowKermit on
If they’re asking supermarkets to kindly consider lowering their already slim margins, it seems the Labour party have run out of ideas for how to get the cost of living crisis under control.
24 Comments
Government asks retailers to voluntarily limit price rises on household essential, and protect income for Uk farmers.
Media: They want to order price caps!
What a coincidence, currently prices are also prepopsterous and idiotic.
Foxes say it would be dangerous to allow someone else to guard the henhouse
The profits!!! Think of the profits!!
Our beloved shareholders!!!
We must let the people starve for we have a yacht and castle to pay for!!! What about us!!
Tescos has really upped its profit margins but be real supermarket profits are wafer thin relative to the supply chain price increases + branded goods massive increases over the last few years
Price caps have always been the fastest way to create scarcity…
There’s no margin in staple foods anyway so I don’t really see the point in caps.
There is no proposed food price cap, just more power to investigate price gouging. However that phrase would not fit the “independent”.’s narrative.
Comments in this thread so far are deeply depressing. I’m convinced we’re completely cooked as a country because people are simply ignorant about how the world works and do not understand what a functioning competitive market looks like or why it benefits them.
Supermarket profits are wafer thin, prices have risen because costs (fuel, wages, etc.) have risen, artificially capping prices just results in shortages and scarcity. The UK supermarket is basically the posterchild of ruthless capitalist efficiency giving customers massive choice and low cost.
The fact that a significant proportion of the population apparently think that supermarkets have a 50%+ profit margin is terrifying.
You’d be better off clamping down on the way supermarkets abuse their loyalty / membership schemes to drive up revenues.
Looks angrily at Tesco.
The Uk supermarkets are ultra competitive already. I’d also add that food is not expensive.
This doesn’t mean I’m rich. It’s possible to feed yourself for a week to a low/okay standard for 3 hours work on the national minimum wage.
Where we are actually getting shafted is energy, house and water prices.
These three things governments actually have more control over and failed. The price of food on the other hand is a success story
I’m appalled at the economic literacy of the average redditor. I guess the days of socialism and communism are so distant now that many think they would be a good idea.
I mean yeah, price caps on businesses with razor thin margins is disastrous, especially when overheads and supplier costs are rising aswell.
Most people would say marking up a product to be higher than its normal retail price, and then inventing some “loyalty card price” that is just the old regular price is preposterous and idiotic as well
It would be deeply deeply stupid and cause other issues on food prices
Reading the article, it sounds like the government are offering reduced regulation (and pausing planned regulation) in exchange for the supermarkets agreeing to use the savings to voluntarily keep prices of essentials down.
It is a million miles from price caps.
Wasn’t this tried in the 70’s, only to make things worse!?
Margins may be small, but that doesn’t mean the profit is. Asking companies that provide essentials, to maybe cut their profit margins further temporarily should not be a thing that we are arguing against, surely…. People aren’t suggesting they operate at a loss, just rather than making £500 mil profit, make £250 mil profit, for the benefit of everyone for a change…
Price caps are absolutely idiotic. It shows a complete lack of any economic knowledge.
Limiting margin would be less terrible. Or the government could find some other mechanism to shift wealth into the hands of those who are feeling the pinch hardest.
Funny how the second someone says bread, milk and eggs maybe shouldn’t cost a fortune, supermarkets start acting like civilisation is about to collapse.
No one’s asking them to work for free. People are just tired of being told it’s “bad economics” to afford dinner while profits keep somehow surviving just fine.
If keeping basics affordable is “idiotic”, what do we call a country where feeding your family feels like a luxury?
Hard to tell who is real and who is a bot/paid troll, from both sides, in this thread.
The government passing the buck again. Meanwhile there’s more talk of my energy prices rising and the government response is to freeze fuel duty hikes and not cut fuel duty.
If the government is concerned about food prices why are they introducing the grocery tax at the same time?
If they’re asking supermarkets to kindly consider lowering their already slim margins, it seems the Labour party have run out of ideas for how to get the cost of living crisis under control.