Rise in sales of radios and tinned foods after the call to stock up: what you actually need

What the shops reported

BBC Newsnight gathered sales figures from retailers after the government's Be Ready campaign launched on 22 October. Iceland said it saw a 40% increase in sales of tinned products over the weekend, with strong sales of bottled water too. Robert Dyas reported radio sales up 160% compared with the week before.

Maplin said that, since the announcement and compared with the same period last month, radio sales were up 92%, torches up 284% and power banks up 106%. Two small specialist shops told the programme their orders had risen tenfold and by 650%, most of them for wind-up radios.

Iceland also said its supplies of these products remain healthy. Nothing here suggests a shortage, and there is no reason to buy more than your household needs.

What the government actually asked for

Be Ready asks households to keep enough at home to manage for three days of disruption, such as a storm, a power cut or a water outage. Its checklist covers 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, food that needs no fridge or cooking, a torch and spare batteries, warm layers, a battery or wind-up FM radio, a charged power bank, some cash, and medicines and baby or pet supplies where you need them.

It is a list to build up a few items at a time, not a shopping trip to do this week. Our explainer of the checklist goes through it item by item.

Where most homes really are

The Cabinet Office's own 2026 preparedness survey, published as official statistics in August, asked 10,791 UK adults what they had at home. 60% said they had three days of food that needs no cooking. About half had a power bank (54%) or a battery, solar or wind-up torch (53%).

Two gaps stand out. Only 23% had a battery, solar or wind-up FM radio. And once their bottled water was counted against their household size at 3 litres a person a day, only 4% had three days' worth.

If you're buying a radio, get one that works here

FM is the band that matters: it carries BBC local radio, the station with practical local information when something goes wrong in your area. DAB works too, but it uses more battery for the same listening, so a cheap set flattens its cells faster. An FM-only radio is perfectly good for this job.

Two things to ignore. Long wave closed in June 2026, so a long-wave band is no use. And many wind-up radios sold here are American designs that advertise NOAA weather channels: those are US frequencies and receive nothing in Britain. Judge a radio on FM reception, how it takes power (batteries, a crank, solar or USB), and whether the crank feels sturdy.

Tins: buy what you already eat

The best emergency food is food you would eat anyway, bought a few extra tins at a time and used in date order, so nothing goes to waste. Pick things you can eat cold, and keep a tin opener that works by hand.

Water is the bigger gap for most homes: the Be Ready checklist asks for 3 litres a person a day, so a household of three needs 27 litres for three days.