Former Foreign Secretary John Bowen has issued a stark warning that the Trump administration and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government are steering the Middle East toward a “permacrisis” – a permanent state of instability that will ricochet through global energy markets and hit British households at the petrol pump and the supermarket checkout.
Speaking at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Bowen said the recent “reshuffling” of alliances and military postures risked creating a “volatile powder keg” from Gaza to the Gulf. “This is not a temporary flare-up. The policies being pursued by Washington and Tel Aviv are entrenching conflict for a generation,” he warned. His intervention comes as oil prices have already crept above $90 a barrel, adding pressure to a cost-of-living crisis that has seen UK inflation stubbornly hover above 4%.
Bowen’s focus on the economic knock-on effects will resonate in northern towns like Burnley and Grimsby, where families are still reeling from the energy price shock of 2022. A “permacrisis” in the Middle East would mean prolonged uncertainty for energy supplies and supply chains. The ONS recently reported that UK fuel costs rose by 8% in the last quarter, with hauliers warning that further increases would be passed on to food prices immediately.
“Every time the prime minister or the White House talks about an intervention, it’s the working people of this country who pay the price,” said Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite the Union. “We cannot afford another foreign adventure that makes the cost of living worse.”
The warning also highlights growing unease within Labour circles about the UK’s alignment with the current US administration on Middle East policy. Bowen, a respected voice on foreign affairs, is one of several senior figures urging the party to press for a ceasefire in Gaza and a renewed two-state solution, rather than backing what they see as Netanyahu’s hardline expansionism.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was asked about Bowen’s comments this morning but declined to comment directly. A Treasury spokesperson said the government was “monitoring global energy prices closely” and “committed to protecting households”. But local Labour councillors in Manchester and Leeds are already organising emergency meetings to discuss the potential spike in heating costs this winter.
The term “permacrisis” – short for permanent crisis – was coined to describe the interlocking shocks of pandemic, war and inflation. Bowen’s use of it now suggests he believes the Middle East could become the next relentless drain on global stability and British living standards. For the working family in Rotherham or Middlesbrough, that may mean another winter of choosing between heating and eating.
Whether the government heeds his warning remains to be seen. But as the streets of Gaza fill with rubble and the price of a loaf of bread creeps up yet again, the connection between foreign policy and kitchen table economics has never been clearer.
