Brits call stockpiling advice panic, but two-thirds are stocking up anyway

Some 61% of respondents say the Prime Minister's advice to stock up on food and water is making people panic for no reason, according to a new survey of 1,000 UK adults aged 18–64 commissioned by Casinos Analyzer.

The findings follow the government's Be Ready campaign, launched on 22 October, which asks households to prepare for three days of disruption. Overall, 65% of respondents have bought extra emergency supplies in response to government advice or plan to, while 63% expect major disruption to electricity, water or food supplies within the next 12 months.

Key takeaway

• 61% say the PM’s stockpiling advice is causing needless panic
• 65% have bought extra emergency supplies or plan to
• 63% expect major power, water or food supply disruption within a year
• 55% of those buying or planning supplies have cut other spending or plan to
• 53% say the government’s advice has left them worried about major disruption at home
• 979% rise in UK “emergency survival kit” searches last week, peaking the day after Be Ready launched

Sceptical, but stocking up

Only 23% of respondents have already bought extra supplies in response to the government's advice, but another 42% plan to. The remaining 35% have not bought extra supplies in response to the advice and do not plan to.

Behind the shopping lists sits a real sense that something is coming. 16% expect major disruption to essential services such as electricity, water or food within the next month, and a further 27% expect it within two to six months. Only 37% believe it won't happen at all.

The campaign has added to the unease rather than calming it. Just over half (53%) say the government's advice to prepare has made them worried that a major disruption could hit their own household.

Crisps and booze make the emergency shopping list

The official Be Ready checklist asks for 3 litres of drinking water per person per day and food that needs no fridge or cooking. Among the 128 respondents buying or planning to buy extra supplies, long-life food tops the list at 82%, followed by bottled water (79%), toilet roll and hygiene products (78%) and emergency equipment such as torches, batteries and power banks (75%). 

Burnham told BBC Radio 5 Live that his own cupboard holds beans, soup and Twiglets, and plenty of Brits are packing treats too. 37% of those buying or planning supplies include chocolate, crisps or sweets, and 11% include alcohol.

Vapes have also made the emergency shopping list, with 4% of those buying or planning supplies including them in their crisis preparations. Condoms are making it into Brits’ emergency kits too, but appear on just 1% of lists.

Full cupboards, tighter budgets

Being ready comes at a price. More than half (55%) of those buying or planning supplies have already cut back on other spending to pay for emergency supplies or plan to, which works out at 35% of all respondents.

The official guidance suggests building supplies up gradually during normal shopping trips rather than buying everything at once. For many households, that still means something else comes out of the weekly basket to make room for tins and bottled water.

Keeping shelves stocked and neighbours fed

If disruption does come, Brits want supermarkets to step in early. 81% would support limits on how much bottled water and long-life food each customer can buy during a major disruption, a measure shoppers last saw during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most would also look beyond their own front door. 72% would share some food and water with a neighbour who had none, even with only enough for their own household for three days. The remaining 28% would keep their supplies to themselves.

Methodology

Survey of 1,000 UK adults aged 18–64, conducted in October 2026, commissioned by Casinos Analyzer, a casino research platform, as part of its ongoing research into how UK households respond to national emergency planning. Search data from Glimpse, United Kingdom, 30 days to 26 October 2026.