The possibility of the rate of inflation getting higher once again looms over the economy and the finances of individuals and organisations. This time, America and Israel’s war with Iran is to blame, with oil prices rising.
On 17 March 2026, the chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves gave the Mais lecture at Bayes Business School, where she said: “In Iran, we are witnessing further symptoms of that age of insecurity, which are likely to put upwards pressure on inflation in the months to come.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that war has led to inflation increase. When inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was cited as one of the reasons for rising prices.
While Reeves argued that this government “has put Britain in a more secure position than on the eve of the Ukraine conflict”, including lower inflation and lower borrowing than the G7 average, she also said that “it remains the case that the single best way to protect families and businesses from rising energy prices is a swift resolution to the conflict in the Middle East”.
Many charities are still struggling with increased costs, including higher energy bills and increased costs due to the government’s changes to national insurance.
Perhaps, this a subject that the new Civil Society Council will bring up in its discussions with government. The members of this body, which will be chaired by Kate Lee, CEO of NCVO, were announced last month. Time will tell whether it has real impact and gives charities a meaningful voice at the heart of government.
As well as the economy, another focus of this government has been reforms to the world of pensions, including the introduction of new type of pensions scheme and a commission to consider broader changes. These changes will potentially affect everyone saving for retirement and organisations with employees – including charities. There are also emerging trends in how charities are viewing pensions.
To help illustrate this and inform readers, our cover theme section is on pensions. It includes our new pensions survey – which we aim to become a regular annual feature, like our other surveys.
Tristan Blythe is editor of Charity Finance
