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 had the same lovely experience but didn’t do all the panic buying - always found stuff in shops, never had any issues. Sure I had to use kitchen roll on a handful of occasions to wipe - or did I use baby wipes as I had a baby then? I just adapted and can’t remember because it was so insignificant. I’m not suggesting everyone’s situations were the same.

I could allow myself to panic and prep - I’m often tempted but then I consider what the alternative is… if there ever calls for a time I need to use emergency gas canisters… would I waste it on tea and coffee?

I have decided tonight to keep an extra crate of water in the garage for rotation with my fridge in case of outages, and a few handy tins in case of the same, but I don’t want to survive in a world where I’m counting down my days until my 40 litres’ supply runs out or gets looted.

I do regard your reasoning highly though, it’s just not for me.

Pretty obviously there is going to be some kind of serious national crisis, such as an attack from Russia, or a terrible environmental incident, sooner rather than later. I’m not sure having bottled Water is going to help much.

Mild prepper here. There’s not much you could be planting this time next year. We might be harvesting from the hedgerows instead!

This is completely common across all of Scandinavia, and any countries close to Russia like Lithuania, Poland etc. Lithuania have had several 'take cover' air alerts recently where people have genuine sheltered underground in the 1000s. Their attitude is that anyone with half a brain doesn't ignore public advice.

It's hardly difficult to have 5kg of pasta/rice, some water, maybe 20 cans of veg/proteins and similar long-life foods in the pantry alongside a few candles.

Anywhere east/ north of Germany, most people have a pretty clear idea of what will happen in an emergency, how alerts will be sent, and where they would take cover either on their own property or in public spaces they frequently visit.

Panicking and rushing off for supplies when the genuine need arises like during Covid is what causes problems in the supply chain. It's a better idea to convince at least some % of the population to be prepared for an emergency at all times.

It takes 30 mins of your life to buy some bits and inform yourself, hardly a major inconvenience. Imagine how much calmer you'd have felt with something to fall back on at the start of Covid, with a lot of income becoming uncertain overnight and the great purge in supermarkets.

Prepping isn't panic buying, it's calmly stocking up when there is no panic. That way you can swerve the shops completely when they're full of panic buyers.

if there ever calls for a time I need to use emergency gas canisters… would I waste it on tea and coffee?

If the power goes off for a day or two, even several hours, absolutely I am getting the camping stove out so I can have a cup of tea! That's really high on my list of priorities

I thought exactly the same when this came up on my news feed yesterday. I thought 'Does the government never learn?'. Suggesting that people stock up on ANYTHING is guaranteed to make people panic buy,so that there's nothing left for people who are older,slower, disabled,don't own a car so can't carry mountains of shopping,or simply don't have the funds to buy a lot. I am disabled and cannot stand in queues for ages, and during the first 2 weeks of the the pandemic,I was trying to get hold of some toilet rolls. There was none anywhere. Luckily my DD managed to get me some eventually but at one point I was reduced to using a box of tissues! So,I think advising us 'to stock up' is terrible advice. So many people can't be sensible about it and just get a couple of extra items a week. They go mad and start grabbing everything in sight.

I was responding to someone who said their friends couldn't get water during Covid, I do understand that sometimes people might lose water at their homes, which is a completely different thing.

When I had a plumbing issue over a weekend which meant I turned my water supply off I just used the water I had put aside in cupboards in bottles - filled up from my taps earlier. However I live in a country where people don't lose their minds if the government suggest we should be prepared!

As far as I know people could still use their taps during Covid.

For goodness sake, you fill the containers when you do have water and on the day when you turn the taps on and there is no water then you use it.

People in the UK seem to be incapable of the simplest thing.

Ocado is very low on sardines. This is scientific evidence that at least some people are heeding government advice. Possibly.

We have containers of tap water in the garage but I wouldn't use it for drinking as it's not been bottled properly for long term, it would need those chlorine tablets. Far easier to buy some bottled drinking water for that

@JoB1kenobi if there ever calls for a time I need to use emergency gas canisters… would I waste it on tea and coffee?

Don't underestimate the importance of morale during an emergency situation. Hot drinks can be comforting and bring back some sense of normalcy, same as having a familiar snack. Mood is very important if you're trying to make good decisions and reduce stress generally.

Water does go off 😂😂😂 especially in a hot shed!

Fortunately DH has all the camping stuff like various different cookers and the caravan is on the drive with its gas cooker which would last quite a while