Paranoid or practical? Britain’s ‘Be Ready’ citizen campaign

The British government’s “Be Ready” campaign has triggered a surge in sales of emergency supplies, with bottled water, tinned food and hand sanitiser seeing sharp increases in the 10 days since its launch on October 22.

Retail research firm Worldpanel by Numerator reports that sales of bottled water have risen by 67 percent, tinned and jarred food by 37 percent, and hand sanitiser by 83 percent during this period.

Wind-up radios, torches and power banks have also sold out at several retailers, bringing back memories of the COVID-19 pandemic when supermarkets ran dangerously low on essential goods.

The campaign, the first stage of a three-year public information push by the Cabinet Office, urges households in England and Wales to be able to cope on their own for 72 hours if electricity, water, phone and internet services fail.

The government argues that this allows emergency services to focus on those who require more urgent assistance during a national emergency.

What is on the checklist?

The campaign’s website features a checklist of essential items, starting with bottled water and long-life food that does not need refrigeration, such as tinned food, dried fruit and nuts.

It also recommends having a torch, spare batteries, a charged power bank and a wind-up or battery-powered radio, along with cash in case card payments go down, a first aid kit, medication, warm clothing and blankets.

The guidance covers England and Wales, while Scotland and Northern Ireland receive their own advice through Ready Scotland and NI Direct.

More than 500 organisations, including charities, businesses and faith and community groups, have signed up to spread the message.

Official household preparedness guidance has existed since May 2024, but the new push aims to get people to act on it.

Why is the campaign happening now?

The government officially focuses the campaign on ensuring households can get through “everyday emergencies” such as storms, floods, wildfires and burst water pipes.

This follows months of heatwaves, drought and fires across the United Kingdom this summer.

Ministers have linked the campaign to the risk of cyberattacks and hostile state activity against critical infrastructure, with Defence Minister Lord Coaker pointing to a Cabinet Office survey showing only 13 percent of households felt largely or totally prepared.

The UK is also aligning with its neighbours, as the European Commission’s Preparedness Union Strategy recommends that people be able to cope alone for at least 72 hours.

Sweden posted 5.2 million copies of its crisis-preparedness brochure to households in November 2024, and Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic run similar campaigns.

Public response and criticism

Shoppers in England and Wales have acted fast and enthusiastically. Supermarket chain Iceland said sales of tinned products rose 40 percent over the first weekend.

Worldpanel found the equivalent of 400,000 extra people a day bought tinned meat immediately after the launch.

The rush has extended beyond food aisles; electronics retailer Maplin reported torch sales jumped 284 percent, radios 92 percent, and power banks 106 percent within days.

Hardware store group Robert Dyas reported a 160 percent rise in radio sales, with at least seven wind-up radio models selling out across several outlets.

Criticism has focused on tone more than substance. On BBC’s Question Time, an audience member accused Defence Secretary Wes Streeting of “scaremongering”, warning that the advice would trigger panic buying.

Streeting replied that the campaign was about everyday threats such as wildfires, flooding and frozen pipes.

Opposition figures have largely accepted the principle, with Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat calling the advice “a perfectly reasonable thing”.

However, more than 180 experts, academics, farmers and community food leaders signed an open letter warning that 29 percent of Britons cannot afford a three-day food reserve.

They urged ministers to set up national, regional and community food stores rather than rely on the resilience of individual households.

Is the advice necessary?

Supporters say the advice is modest and overdue. Having three days of supplies is standard across much of Europe, and the 2025 Iberian blackout showed how fast cash machines, card payments and mobile networks can fail.

That blackout, which hit Spain, Portugal and parts of southwestern France, paralysed public transport, caused large traffic jams and delayed flights, leaving residents unable to access cash from ATMs.

With only one in eight Britons feeling prepared, they argue a calm campaign now is better than a panicked one during a crisis.

Retail data so far suggests most people have responded calmly.

Bournemouth University’s Disaster Management Centre research highlights why the messaging could be critical. Households responding to that said they saw accidents at home as the hazard most likely to affect them – cited by 35 percent – while only 5 percent named war and conflict, and 4 percent terrorism.

Miles called for more targeted risk communication to the public, alongside education to help households build their resilience.