HM Gov telling us to get tinned food and bottled water?

[DecisionTime123]

Call me old fashioned, but isn't this sort of thing likely to provoke a run on toilet rolls? Couldnt find any other threads on it, but I think there is a "preppers" topic on here somewhere. In any case, what do you think? I'm sort of concerned, should I be? Or has this gone under the radar?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/25/uk-to-warn-citizens-to-stock-up-on-food-amid-threat-from-climate-crisis-and-hostile-states

I'm lucky that I'm unlikely to get a power cut due to storms these days as my power lines are underground all the way but the other half of my estate, literally just a few doors down, is on a different electrical thingymajig (technical term I'm sure) with over ground power lines. There was a big storm last winter and pretty much all the areas with over ground power lines near me, including the other half of my estate, lost power for days. It was the middle of winter, very cold (like -20) and they had to open places for people to warm up, take showers, charge powerbanks etc. Days of no running water, no heat, no power, while a few doors down we were perfectly fine (and if there wasn't the areas unaffected then it would have been even worse, as there would have been nowhere for them to go to warm up and shower and charge things). Made me so glad we hadn't bought the house we originally looked at, which was on the wrong side of the estate!

They need a boost to the economy which will be met by encouraging rapid intake of shopping for stockpiling.

The IRGC have threatened the UK because we have supported the US by allowing them to use our military bases. The IRGC and Russia are allies so yes, I imagine they could be collaborating.

But you'll get eaten by the midges.

The theory is based on that its a known thing that anxiety/stress is made worse by feeling that you have little or no control over your circumstances. A good example is that people in senior work roles tends to be more able to deal with work stress because they have more control over it. A bit like being able to fend off a toddler meltdown over getting dressed by asking to they want the red shirt or the blue one. If people are anxious about loss of utilities, knowing that they have a plan and have made preparations can help them to feel less anxious

Are people who can afford it expendable then?
During Covid, stores were only letting certain amounts of goods be bought per person. Same will happen again I should think.

And as long as you know your arse from your elbow, you will still be needing the toilet paper!!

Oh, god, I'm so shite at growing vegetables. We're all going to die if we have to live off of four green beans and a rogue bramble bush.

Yes, please fucking don't.

You can have power cuts, burst water mains etc… at any time.

I always have some bottled water and tinned fruit, biscuits, crisps etc… just in case!

I don’t think the government are expecting you to hoard a year’s worth of supplies… more it’s 48 hours of food and water for an emergency!

A wind up radio and torch will always be useful too!

Tbh i've got about 20 5ltr bottles and about 50 tins of soup etc stored in my garage. I just add to my shop monthly a bottle and a tin and have done for the past year. Its sensible in the current clinate. Also keep a couple of hundred in cash in my knicker drawer because of threats of cyber attacks.

It is known ant Russian subs have been very near communication lines with the rest of Europe. They are also capable of blocking signals and entering systems. They only have cut, block or bug any data information for the food lines to collapse.

Where did you order the water from? Most places have an order weight limit?

Must have missed something. What happened in Covid that made it hard to get food and water

amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EX18MVK?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_109

Sainsbury's, with the usual groceries delivery.

I think it was the panic buying that caused problems.

I bought mine when we had the week without mains water. None of the local supermarkets had any either online or at the store. That's why I went to amazon

Literally every year the same thing comes out. I don’t know why people are reacting like it’s new . Mr P been spouting again, but he has for how many years now?

I have 3 teenagers so any attempt to stockpile is a complete failure as a week later I have no food in the house.

If it gets to a point where we're 'running out' of food and water, I expect we're all dunfer. So not much point worrying about it in advance.

I've been holding extra stocks of store cupboard items since autumn 2019, when it looked like we might Brexit with no deal. Guess who had the last laugh when Covid arrived and I had 80 toilet rolls stashed in the garage?
i rotate my stocks every time i shop but instead of having a spare of a few things in the pantry, I keep two of everything I use regularly. However I don't buy anything we wouldn't eat ordinarily. Bottled water could be an issue to be fair.

I was thinking the same! The government published guidance about being prepared in 2023 or 2024 so this is nothing new.

We’ve been gradually working on building up a small stock ever since; a jumbo bottle of water when I go to the big ASDA, a few extra tins of fruit in the food shop, a wind up radio with charging ports, etc. We also have a first aid kit, marathon blankets, snacks and water in the car now.

Life is unpredictable so it makes sense to prepare if you can, my mum had no water for days and no power for nearly a week after Storm Goretti earlier this year.

I don't think it's for "running out of food or water", it's for storms, interruptions of service, cyber attacks etc.

Like Spain's power outage that meant tills at groceries etc didn't work, or disrupted water supply that takes a day or two to resolve.

Its sensible to have some bottled water for an emergency. About 10,000 people in East London were without mains water recently. Also makes sense to have 3/4 days of tinned/dry food in case of energy outages. No need to panic, just sensible precautions.