SNP's price caps on food will not be legally possible, says Kemi... but Starmer can't be trusted to block them

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY, SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 20:35, 17 April 2026 | Updated: 20:35, 17 April 2026 Price caps on food items proposed by the SNP will not be legally possible – but Sir Keir Starmer can’t be trusted to block them, Kemi Badenoch claimed. The Conservative leader condemned plans unveiled by First Minister John Swinney to force supermarkets to introduce ‘price ceilings’ on between 20 and 50 essential food items. Mrs Badenoch confirmed she may block the move by refusing to give an exemption from the UK Internal Market Act, but doesn’t trust the Prime Minister to do the same. It comes after growing criticism of the ‘idiotic’ and ‘unworkable’ proposal – unveiled by the SNP in its Holyrood election manifesto on Thursday – amid concerns about the impact on retailers, small businesses and farmers. And Mr Swinney admitted yesterday that he had not yet consulted with business leaders about the price caps. Responding to the SNP food price cap proposals, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘It isn’t legally possible. They are only doing it because they want to have a row with the UK Government about the constitution. ‘They have run out of ideas and are scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for rows. It is yet again the SNP not understanding fundamental economics. John Swinney has proposed price caps on popular supermarket staples Kemi Badenoch says the proposed price caps would be illegal ‘I certainly don’t support it. I would look at exactly what they were doing but would be minded to block it if it was as crazy as it sounds.’ Asked if she trusts the Labour Government to block it, she said: ‘No. They don’t understand how anything works and the Prime Minister is embroiled in yet another crisis at the moment where it looks like he has misled parliament and everyone is calling for him to resign. ‘His own leader in Scotland has asked him to resign. I don’t think they have the bandwidth for something like this. This is a government which won’t even drill our own oil and gas in the North Sea at a time when we have a fuel shock coming because of the war in Iraq. They are not serious.’ Pressed on whether she thought Sir Keir would permit an exemption to the UK Internal Market Act to allow the scheme to go ahead, she said: ‘Yes, absolutely. If he thought it would help him get votes in some way, he would do it. ‘He is not about doing things because he believes in them or doesn’t believe in them.’ In the immediate aftermath of the policy being announced by the SNP, the Scottish Retail Consortium condemned it as ‘1970s-style price controls and potty gimmicks’. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said it was a ‘radical but risky policy’, and added the UK Government may view it as ‘incompatible’ with the UK Internal Market Act. It also highlighted unintended consequences including causing demand to exceed supply, retailers looking to restrict supply of these items, or the products being reformulated to reduce production costs. Kemi says she does not trust Starmer to block the proposal Concerns have also been raised by the Food and Drink Federation Scotland and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation. Amid a continuing backlash, Joanna Marchong, of the Adam Smith Institute, said: ‘Forcing retailers to cap prices risks squeezing margins, reducing supply and ultimately leaving shelves emptier or costs pushed onto other products. Economists and retailers are already warning this could lead to shortages and market disruption.’ During a visit to a convenience store in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: ‘John Swinney must know his idiotic plan to dictate prices to supermarkets is unworkable nonsense. It would cripple small retailers, harm Scotland’s farmers and wouldn’t reduce a single shopping bill. ‘It’s a dishonest ruse to pick a fight with the UK Government, not a sincere attempt to help hard-working Scots.’ The UK Government has not yet ruled to block the proposal, but a source said: ‘This an incoherent and undeliverable policy which risks costing the Scottish Government millions in legal bills. John Swinney has invented a policy more likely to put money in the pockets of lawyers than working people.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.