A proposal to give British regulators more power to combat what it deems to be excessive price increases would be heavy-handed and difficult to implement, McGuireWoods London partner Matthew Hall told Compliance Week in a July 16, 2026, story.
Rachel Reeves, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer (head of the treasury) when the story was published, pledged to give consumer watchdogs more power to investigate potential price gouging and “name and shame” companies by publicly sharing information on how they changed their prices in response to an economic shock or crisis. The move came on May 20, 2026, in response to disruptions caused by the U.S. military action in Iran.
Hall called the proposals a “knee-jerk reaction to what is likely to be a short-term problem,” especially since the changes would likely require legislation that is “at least several months down the line and may be passed after the U.S.-Iran conflict is over.” He said it’s also unclear what would constitute “unfair and unjustifiably high prices” or a “crisis.”
“If all or a number of non-dominant companies put up prices at the same time, then that is either a cartel—which is already illegal—or these companies will be simply acting in response to input cost increases, which is allowable,” Hall said.