World food prices are already at their highest level since November 2023, and that pressure has not yet fully been transmitted to what you pay at the till.

UK inflation is already expected to breach 5% in 2026, partly as a result of these pressures and the Bank of England warns it could get worse.

Meanwhile, it's the developing world faces the sharpest pain. In countries where food takes the largest share of household income, price spikes tip millions into food insecurity. But the UK is not immune

None of these four pressures arose by accident. Each is the consequence of political choices: the decisions to wage war, to burn fossil fuels, to impose tariffs. And the political response so far is nowhere near equal to the scale of the threat. Will you go hungry? That's the question now? The possibility is real.

The Bank of England has held interest rates, but the real story is what happens next. Beneath its decision, pressure is building to raise rates again, and that could prove disastrous.

In this video, I explain why that is the case. The inflation we are facing is not driven by excess domestic demand. It is being driven by war, supply shortages, and speculation in global commodity markets. Interest rate rises cannot produce more oil or resolve supply disruptions, but they can further suppress demand in an already weakening economy.

That is the risk we now face. Raising rates in these conditions could accelerate the move toward recession, increasing business costs, reducing investment, and undermining confidence. There is a real danger that central banks could turn a fragile situation into a much deeper economic crisis.

The problem, at its core, is that central banks are applying the wrong theory to the wrong problem. When inflation is supply-driven, higher interest rates do not solve it. They can only make it worse. And unless that is recognised soon, the consequences could be severe.

The Bank of England has warned that serious financial risks are building — and I think people need to pay attention.

An AI stock bubble, war in Iran, and risks in shadow banking could trigger a major financial correction.

In this video, I explain:

• Why I think the risks are real

• What the Bank of England is actually saying

• How to protect your pension

• WWhat to do about debt

• Why certainty matters more than chasing returns right now

This is not financial advice. Please seek regulated advice where appropriate.

But doing nothing may be the biggest risk of all.

Tony Blair’s institute has published a report proposing sweeping cuts to UK social security by redefining mental illness, ADHD, autism and other health conditions as “non-work-limiting.” This will force many who are unable to work to look for jobs and leave them destitute if they cannot find them, as is likely

Worryingly, his whole report includes not a single reference to medical support for the reforms he is proposing. He is targeting those with ill health for the sole purpose of cutting taxes due by the wealthy, whose interests he seems to now serve.

His report ignores the real causes of poor health in Britain, which has increased because of:

• austerity

• poverty

• insecure work

• poor housing

• ultra-processed food

• NHS underfunding

Meanwhile, healthy life expectancy in Britain is collapsing.

This is not reform. It is coercion.

And it could leave millions worse off.

These are practical steps to protect yourself:

• • Pensions: if you are near or are in retirement, take advice now on pension risks and withdrawals and choose the right risk exposure for you.
  • Savings: if you hold more than £120,000 in a single bank, split it to stay within the government guarantee limit.
  • Your job: this might not be the moment to change employer; job security is more valuable than it looks at times like this.
  • Mortgages: You might want to avoid locking in a long fixed rate; consider a variable or one-year deal, as interest rates may fall sharply if the economy crashes.
  • Energy: if you can afford a fixed-price contract, it may be worth taking one now before prices rise further.
  • Secondhand goods: sell your unwanted items now to realise cash, before a downturn floods the market and prices collapse.
  • Cars: do not buy now, but wait for a better-quality used car at a lower price as finance deals unwind, as many might do soon.
  • Voting: back parties that believe in state intervention: the Greens, SNP, and Plaid Cymru are most likely to act in your interest when markets fail

The government is not being straight with you. The tools to protect yourself exist, but you need to act before the crash, not after.

The world is facing a financial crisis because we will be facing absolute shortages of oil, food, and raw materials very soon. And that changes everything.

Markets can never solve the problem of absolute shortages: they simply supply whoever can pay the most. If we leave allocation to the market, the vulnerable will be left with nothing.

The Economist forecasts that the oil crisis will hit us by June 2026 if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, as it will. But all politicians are still talking about are fiscal rules. That is not good enough.

There are only two things that can manage this crisis now. We need rationing of food, petrol, and diesel to ensure they are distributed equitably, and not sold to the highest bidder.

And then we must increase taxes on large companies, commodity traders, and the highest earners and wealthiest people to ensure money can be reallocated to those who will otherwise suffer as a result of the inflation that shortages are going to create.

These tools exist. What is missing is the political courage to use them.

What a full boycott must include:

• End all defence agreements and halt armed supplies immediately
• Ban trade, block financial flows, restrict travel
• Break sporting, artistic, and academic links
• Begin war crimes investigations and prosecutions

Opposing these actions is not antisemitism. Allowing them to continue unchallenged would be a moral failure of historic proportions. Sanctions eventually ended apartheid in South Africa. Nothing less will do here — and the time is now.

The FTSE 100 and S&P 500 are near record highs. The real economy is deteriorating. And the Bank of England's Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, Sarah Breeden, has now said publicly what most politicians will not: a stock market crash is coming, and the financial system is not ready for it.

This crash could be worse than 2008 because of overvalued stock markets, the AI bubble, an overexpanded and at-risk shadow banking system and the Iran energy shock, which the International Energy Agency is calling the biggest energy shock in history.

If any of these risks crystallise simultaneously, and Sarah Breeden thinks they might, then the result will not be a market correction. It will be a financial crisis that will result in falling confidence, rising interest rates, frozen lending, job losses, and a domino effect through the real economy.

Governments must act now to plan for this eventuality and not after any crash happens. Contingency plans must exist, and nothing appears to be being done as yet.

If ever there was a moment to worry, even the Bank of England is saying this is it.