Former government advisor says working from home would be “perfectly sensible measure” to reduce demand for fuel and combat any risk of shortages because of the Middle East conflict
The government has been urged to encourage Brits to work from home to prevent energy shortages in the wake of the war in Iran.
Professor Nick Butler, previously vice-president for strategy and policy at oil giant BP, said it would be “perfectly sensible” for ministers to tell workers to stay at home, warning that the price of diesel could still go a “good deal” above £2 per litre.
Oil prices have rocketed since the outbreak of the war between the US and Israel and Iran. As well as a surge in petrol and diesel prices, it has led to concerns about a potential strain on supplies at some stage.
“Some countries, I think particularly in Asia where the crisis has hit earliest, they’re taking an extra day a week at home,” he told Times Radio.
“People are being encouraged to work at home. And I think you have to test now whether there’s a willingness. And as I read the behavioural science, people do respond. They don’t all do it perfectly, but they respond if other people are responding.”
Asked if the Government should issue recommendations to work from home, Prof Butler said: “Yes, I think that that would be a perfectly sensible measure.”
Prof Butler, who was adviser to Gordon Brown when he was Labour prime minister, also said that the price of diesel could surge higher still, warning that the worst is yet to come.
He said: “The real crisis for Britain and for Europe will come at the end of April and in early May, when the real shortage will translate into both a physical shortage and a sharp rise in prices.
“I don’t think we’ve yet seen the full impact on prices of this loss of supply.”
Asked if the price of diesel could climb higher than £2 per litre, he said: “It could go a good deal north of that. The jet fuel prices doubled, and I think that could go further north as well.
“I think there’s been a degree of complacency and a belief that Mr (Donald) Trump would always come back into line and there would be a deal, and then everything would be OK.”
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said on Tuesday: “Pump prices appear to have finally stopped rising after 43 days of increases which saw petrol go up 25.5p to 158.3p and diesel 49p to 191.54p.
“Wholesale fuel costs are now significantly lower than they were at the start of the month, so forecourt prices should begin to come down. As things stand, we’d expect petrol and diesel to drop by several pence a litre in the next week or so.
“It will be very interesting to see if this plays out as the data indicates. We hope it does as drivers could do with some relief at the pumps with a tank of petrol for a family car now costing £87 and the diesel equivalent £105 – £14 and £27 more than they did at the start of the conflict.”
