Britain's Be Ready push triggers 67% jump in bottled water sales

Britons hit the shops fast after the Cabinet Office launched its three-year 'Be Ready' campaign on October 22. In the first 10 days, bottled water sales rose 67 percent, tinned and jarred food 37 percent and hand sanitiser 83 percent, according to retail research firm Worldpanel by Numerator. Wind-up radios, torches and power banks sold out at several retailers.

The campaign asks households in England and Wales to survive 72 hours on their own if electricity, water, phone and internet services all fail, freeing emergency crews for people who need urgent help. Its checklist starts with bottled water and long-life food, then adds a torch, spare batteries, a charged power bank, a wind-up or battery-powered radio, cash, a first aid kit, medication, warm clothing and blankets. Scotland and Northern Ireland get separate advice through Ready Scotland and NI Direct, and more than 500 charities, businesses and community groups have signed up to spread the word.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, the campaign's loudest public face, says the aim is for people to be 'alert but not alarmed'. Official household guidance has existed since May 2024; what is new is the nudge to act. A Cabinet Office survey this year found only 13 percent of Britons felt largely or totally prepared, while 84 percent wanted more government advice. Defence Minister Lord Coaker pointed to that 13 percent on Remembrance Day as the reason the campaign exists. Ministers have also tied it to cyberattack and hostile-state risks to critical infrastructure, and the National Audit Office warned in September about threats to the UK food supply chain.

The panic-buying vibe reached the electronics aisle too. Maplin said torch sales jumped 284 percent, radios 92 percent and power banks 106 percent within days. Robert Dyas reported a 160 percent rise in radio sales, with at least seven wind-up radio models selling out. Iceland saw tinned product sales climb 40 percent over the launch weekend, and Princes reported heavy demand for tuna, meat and vegetables. Worldpanel calculated the equivalent of 400,000 extra people a day buying tinned meat right after launch. Canned Food UK has since rolled out its own consumer push with TV chef Theo Michaels showing off canned recipes.

The backlash has centred on tone, not substance. On BBC's Question Time, an audience member accused Streeting of 'scaremongering' and predicted panic buying; Streeting said the advice covers everyday threats like wildfires, flooding and frozen pipes. Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat called it 'a perfectly reasonable thing'. Campaign partner the British Red Cross backed it, saying simple preparation helps people support neighbours.

Others want the state to carry more of the load. More than 180 experts, academics, farmers and community food leaders signed an open letter noting 29 percent of Britons cannot afford a three-day food reserve, and urged national, regional and community food stores instead. On November 2, Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy took evidence on public preparedness. Lee Miles, a Bournemouth University crisis and disaster management professor who led the EM-PREPARE study of 931 people, told MPs that 75 percent of households had no major measures for climate change and about 69 percent would spend no more than one day improving their readiness. He warned local resilience bodies need proper funding if handed more responsibility. 'Otherwise, you set them up to fail in various aspects; they will not be able to deliver what they are supposed to,' he said. His message on the campaign: 'The important thing about the Be Ready campaign is turning it into a Being Ready campaign.'