I’m sufficiently nostalgic for the British supermarkets I left behind in 2023 that on visits to the UK I run a small-scale import business between London and Lisbon. I restock: Tesco Dijon mustard (top-drawer and a bargain), rice bran oil (unavailable in Portugal) and (do not tell Portuguese customs) blocks of extra-sharp British cheddar along with bags of slender fine green beans, tails all lined up marvellously on the same side.
Thus I was put out by the new Chancellor’s warning earlier this month that the government will be ‘watching closely for any suggestions that customers are being taken for a ride’ in supermarkets. John Healey’s keeping an eye out for ‘price-gouging’, assuring the public that ‘our regulators have the powers to clamp down on it’.
Before a weekly shop, pre-loading on high blood pressure medication is a must
Fair enough, the soaring cost of food has been shocking – up in Britain by 38 per cent in five years. The Président butter I used to splurge on at two quid for 250g is now £3.65, and many butters are now slyly packaged in 200g units instead. In one year, the price of value blocks of cheddar has doubled. Before a weekly shop, pre-loading on high blood pressure medication is a must, and queuing at the till bracing for the bad news conveniently serves as the day’s aerobic exercise.
