A survey of 1,500 adults by BMG forreveals nearly seven in 10 – 67 per cent – of those questioned backed the idea of the Government introducingJust 13 per cent of respondents opposed the idea, which would see ministers set prices for certain everyday products, such as milk, eggs and bread, in supermarkets.last month as officials grappled with plans to get a grip on inflation. It came as food inflation soared to 19.1 per cent in the year to April, its highest level in 45 years.
Instead, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt and the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey have warned the supermarkets that they must do more to drive down the cost of the weekly shop, having raised concerns that the big retailers were using inflation to “rebuild profit margins”. The official Labour policy is to encourage competition in the market while cutting food manufacturers’ energy bills to bring down wholesale costs and strengthening supply chains post-Brexit.
The poll comes as the consumer watchdog the Competitions and Markets Authority warned that motorists were paying more than they should for a litre of fuel because of reduced competition on supermarket forecourts.