Britain’s refusal to designate the Houthis is ‘increasingly absurd’

Excerpt

Andy Burnham is preparing to cut £200 off energy bills for some of Britain’s poorest households this winter as the Iran war sends another shudder through global energy markets. It is an understandable response. For families already struggling with soaring costs, another year of eye-watering energy prices may well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

But there is something profoundly lacking about the Government once again reaching for the chequebook whenever global instability sends prices skyward. The proposed energy price protection payment may provide welcome relief this winter, but it is not a long-term strategy. With growing global instability, Britain cannot subsidise its way out of every energy crisis indefinitely.

Edmund Fitton-Brown is a former UK ambassador to Yemen and former UN coordinator. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies.