Preparedness in the UK - or lack of

I think this is more of a reflection on "Joe Public"

If the government released official advice to 'prep for several days' then the shops would be stripped of bog roll and pasta within a few hours.

In all seriousness though don't most people keep basic amounts of essentials in stock at home - medicine / toiletries / tinned and canned food / bottled water?

No but there would be a considerable ramping up. And in the worst case, you'd have enough warning to run a bath full of clean water if there was no time to bulk buy bottles from the shops. Communication would be the biggest issue and there's not much you can do to prepare for that, other than have a battery operated radio (doesn't have to be a wind up) and some spare batteries.

I suppose what I'm saying is that having a plan is probably more important than being prepared (resourced) at this point. I have a plan if it ramps up, but until then I'm just going to have a nice cup of tea and focus on the here and now.

Yes, it would be very stupid. Which is why neither it nor a conventional weapons war on the UK are going to happen.

So no need to squirrel away baked beans and Highland Spring.

You’re agreeing with me. We are already at war in cyberland. It’s not suddenly all going to stop working when an enemy sends a code over the internet.

Cyber attacks can cause serious problems, of course, but that’s why we have cyber defences that are in constant use, including back-ups and shadow systems. The internet itself was designed to route around breakdowns. You seem to think there is devil software hanging out just ready for a foreign state to activate. It doesn’t work like that.

Nor will there be a conventional war against Europe/NATO that grinds on without nuclear weapons being used. The only state with any interest in European conflict is Russia. And its forces are in no position to do anything - except nuke us.

As for interference in elections and the like, why would electing fools stop supermarkets selling food or the national grid supplying electricity? In any case we’d just vote them out later.

No. 3 days comes from several posts stating that various governments have given that timeframe.

The Final Countdown!

The things you mention don't take 3 years to plan. Unless your family has really complex medical needs or similar, then stockpiling water and some tins of food doesn't take much. Granted, in a Cold War scenario it would make sense, but we're not there yet. Food, water, heat, shelter is what you need (plus medication for those who need it). Tins, run a bath/ fill bottles and buy baby wipes, duvets and blankets.

What? So will it be business as usual on the 4th day? 😂

To your first para- yes they do and yes they are, both by hackers and other states. The fact that we have defences doesn't mean attacks will never get through (and indeed have got through). There are whole parts of government devoted to working on this.

Your second para is wrong- cyber attacks are extremely likely (see for example https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/06/british-army-russian-attack-field-marshal-lord-houghton/)), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/03/uk-underestimates-threat-of-cyber-attacks-from-hostile-states-and-gangs-says-security-chief )- some would say we are already at war on this basis.

Even if you're not convinced by this, it makes sense to prepare for those things you can prepare for. A normal family can't really prepare meaningfully for nuclear war.

Only an utter demented mad man (like Putin or Trump) would "nuke" us as they know we'd nuke them back - it's only all major countries having their own nuclear deterrent that's prevented it so far.

Turning off gas/electric pipelines, or disrupting communications/internet, or cyber attacks can cause a lot of harm, so is more likely to be the "weapon" of choice in wars between countries, certainly involving leaders who aren't completely demented.

It's far more likely that China or Russia will "attack" us is such ways than them sending over a nuke!

But you can keep your car relatively full of fuel, i.e. fill up when half full instead of only putting half a tank in when nearly empty.

As for prescription meds, you "can" stockpile slightly, just by ordering your monthly supply a few days earlier every month and then you can end up having a full months' supplies "in hand" after a year or so. GP surgeries don't seem to check if you've had 14 "months" of prescriptions issued in a year rather than the expected 13 months' worth (being every 4 weeks rather than calendar monthly).

Cyber attacks happen now, all the time. So Cyber defences are used, all the time. It’s not just enemy states probing servers, it’s thousands of malicious hackers too.

If there’s a war our enemies aren’t going to decide that the local water pumping station is a good place to sabotage from a keyboard in Moscow or wherever. They’re going to nuke us.

Other than building a fallout shelter (I'd rather stand directly under the blast), I'm not sure what preparation is needed by households for a war you say is predicted to happen in 3 years.

Besides, some commentators are saying we're already in WW3, it just looks very different to traditional warfare. Russia can stimulate civil war by interfering in communications and politics without lifting a military finger. Their focus is on creating social instability, cyber attacks on key infrastructure and cutting lines into the uk. It's in nobody's interest to start throwing nukes around - oligarchs are very fond of their money and power, so my betting would be that one of them puts a bullet in Putin's head before they risk losing all that.

Whilst it's true to say that the world is much more unstable than it was a few years ago, the ability to align on allegiances is much more blurred. Europe is perhaps more united as a result, but beyond that, everything becomes a lot muddier. The US is isolating itself, the UK has stronger ties with China that it won't want to jeopardise. I can't see us rushing to help America with Iran, either.

Not only that, but then whinge when the government issues perfectly sound "advice" about being prepared etc as "nannying" etc. But these days, it's always "someone else's" fault isn't it? No one seems to want to accept personal responsibility anymore.

Sorry- I'd add to this petrol and any regular meds. These are obviously harder to manage as you can't stockpile prescription meds and it's not safe to store lots of petrol for most people, but it's sensible not to let either run low (this is just generally sensible TBH).

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67b5f85732b2aab18314bbe4/National_Risk_Register_2025.pdf

its not just about war, it’s about ensuring you can function in a disruption and reducing your reliance on the authorities so that they can assist the most vulnerable. We have become so dependent on services and goods being available on demand that any level of disruption will challenge many in the population

Kind or not i can't put up with people that won't sort out the basics in their lives.