On 23 October 2026, with storms across the UK and homes in Cornwall without power, the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, told BBC Radio 5 Live that households should keep tinned food and bottled water to be ready for emergencies. He added that it was not about panicking but about sensible measures to tide you over. The BBC report and the comment threads under it suggested a lot of people heard "stockpile" and pictured something larger than a kitchen cupboard. This page is about what was actually said and why.
What the advice actually is
The government's Be Ready checklist asks households to be able to manage for three days without the services they normally rely on. In practice: around 9 litres of water per person, non-perishable food, a torch, a battery or wind-up FM radio, a charged power bank, cash, a first aid kit, hygiene basics, copies of important documents, supplies for babies and pets, and a written plan. Our checklist is that list with quantities. It is the contents of a large storage box, not a bunker.
Why it came up in October 2026
- Storms. The UK was in the middle of a run of severe weather, with thousands of homes off supply. Power cuts are the ordinary emergency the kit is built for.
- An online outage. A major security flaw had caused widespread disruption to online services, the kind of event that takes payments, apps and systems down together. See the cyber attack guide.
- A warning on food supply. In September 2026 the National Audit Office said the UK food supply chain was at risk from cyber attacks and the climate crisis, and that Defra had not done enough to improve its resilience. The Cold Chain Federation said hostile hackers knew where the pinch points were. See food supply disruption.
- Wildfire. The Prime Minister was speaking at a wildfire resilience summit, with military aircraft being brought into the national plan. See the wildfire guide.
Put together, the government's argument was that unexpected events are becoming more common, and that a modest household buffer is the sensible response. The opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch, said she was always stocked up for the week and that the previous government had issued similar advice, while pressing for clearer explanation of the risks. The advice itself was not contested by anyone.
Where 72 hours comes from
Three days is the standard across most of Europe and North America, for two linked reasons. First, most disruptions to power, water and supply are fixed within that window; after major UK storms the great majority of customers are reconnected inside 72 hours. Second, in a genuinely large event, emergency services and utilities spend the first days reaching the people who cannot help themselves: care homes, hospitals, people on medical equipment, the isolated and elderly. A household that can quietly look after itself for three days is a household that is not in that queue. It is as much an act of consideration as of self-protection.
What our neighbours do
| Country | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Sweden | A crisis booklet, If Crisis or War Comes, sent to every household since 2018 and updated in 2024; a week of supplies suggested |
| Finland | Long-standing 72-hour household preparedness campaign |
| Germany | Federal advice to hold around ten days of food and water |
| Netherlands | National "Denk Vooruit" campaign; 72-hour kit |
| France | Government 72-hour kit guidance and a national resilience booklet |
| Ireland | Household emergency planning guidance including three days of supplies |
| European Union | 2025 Preparedness Union Strategy recommending citizens hold 72 hours of supplies |
| United Kingdom | Prepare website launched 2024; relaunched as Be Ready with a downloadable checklist, 2026 |
What it is not
It is not a suggestion to buy a month of food, fill the garage, or expect the end of anything. It is not survivalism; the government's list contains no equipment you could not buy at a supermarket. And it is not new: the previous government launched the same advice in 2024 under a different name, and most of Europe has had it for years. Our myths page deals with the more colourful misreadings.
What it is
A spare tyre for the household. Water, food, light, information, cash and a plan, assembled in calm weeks, so that in a bad week you are warm, fed, informed and free to help the neighbour who isn't. The checklist takes an evening to read and five weekly shops to complete. That really is all of it.
Common questions
Is this about war?
The government's own framing lists war alongside cyber attacks and natural disasters as the kinds of crisis the advice covers, and the neighbouring countries that issued similar guidance did so partly with hostile states in mind. But the kit is identical whatever the cause, and the overwhelmingly likely use of it is a storm or a power cut. Prepare for the power cut; the kit covers the rest.
Why did other countries do this first?
Sweden has sent every household a crisis booklet since 2018. Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Ireland have long-standing 72-hour guidance, and in 2025 the EU recommended all citizens hold 72 hours of supplies. The UK launched its Prepare website in 2024 and relaunched it as Be Ready in 2026. The Treasury minister James Murray noted in October 2026 that neighbouring countries had given the same guidance for quite a long time.
Why three days rather than a week?
Three days is roughly how long it takes to restore most services after a major event and to reach the people in greatest need. It is also an amount almost every household can afford and store. A week is a reasonable upgrade if you have the space; beyond that you are into diminishing returns and wasted food.
Is the government saying something bad is about to happen?
No. It is saying that unexpected events are more frequent than they were, which is true: more intense storms, more cyber attacks on services people depend on, and a food supply chain the National Audit Office has described as exposed. The response is proportionate: a shelf of supplies, not a shelter.