Supermarkets' food bill warning to Chancellor

NINE of Britain’s biggest supermarkets have urged Rachel Reeves not to force up the already inflated price of food by hiking business rates on large premises.

- By David Williamson CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR

Senior figures from giants including Asda, Lidl, Tesco and Waitrose wrote to the Chancellor to sound the alarm — cautioning that households will “feel the impact” if supermarkets are forced to pay higher taxes.

‘They note that “high food inflation is likely to persist into 2026”, adding: “This is not something that we would want to see prolonged by any measure in the Budget.

“Large retail premises are a tiny proportion of all stores, yet account for a third of retail’s total business rates bill - another significant rise could push food inflation even higher.”

‘The Government plans to introduce higher business rates for properties with rateable values exceeding £500,000 — a prospect which has dismayed the British Retail Consortium, which represents larger shops and chains.