At its manifesto launch in Glasgow, the Scottish National Party announced a plan to cap prices on up to 50 food staples such as bread, milk and eggs. First Minister John Swinney said devolved health powers would force large supermarkets to offer a single line of each item at the capped rate, aiming to ease household budgets.

The proposal arrives as global energy markets echo the 1973 oil shock, pushing oil, shipping and fertiliser costs higher and nudging food‑price inflation to 3.3 % in February. The Scottish Retail Consortium warned that soaring supply‑chain expenses and UK‑wide statutory levies already strain retailers, whose slim margins have recently slipped despite investments to keep prices low. Retailers keep expanding value lines despite margin pressure.

Unionist parties dismissed the scheme as a nostalgic gimmick, with Conservative spokesman Murdo Fraser calling it a “back‑of‑a‑fag‑packet” stunt designed to provoke Westminster. He warned the UK Internal Market Act could block any Scottish price‑cap law, a risk Swinney flagged as an attack on devolved powers. Regardless of legal hurdles, the cap would directly reshape supermarket pricing in Scotland.