According to a Number 10 press release published on 9 August 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham is starting a wider programme of cost-of-living measures with two consumer interventions: action on misleading retail discounts and earlier commencement of new subscription cancellation protections. Number 10 presented the package as the first stage of a broader set of ‘everyday fixes’. (gov.uk) For Policy Wire readers, the significance is less the political branding than the legal route being proposed. One measure would tighten the treatment of reference pricing and discount claims; the other accelerates the practical start date for subscription contract rules already being developed under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. (gov.uk)
On pricing, the government said it will launch a consultation in autumn 2026 on whether fake ‘was’ prices, invented discounts and misleading recommended retail prices should be added to the list of practices banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. Number 10’s case is that these tactics can give a false impression of value and disadvantage traders that price honestly. (gov.uk) That matters because Schedule 20 of the 2024 Act covers practices that are treated as unfair in all circumstances, while the wider unfair commercial practices regime otherwise often turns on how conduct is presented and whether it is likely to distort consumer decisions. The government’s stated aim is to move disputed discount tactics closer to a bright-line rule, making enforcement more straightforward and expectations clearer for business. (legislation.gov.uk)
The proposal does not start from a blank page. The CMA’s unfair commercial practices guidance says the relevant parts of the 2024 Act have applied to commercial practices from 6 April 2025, and separate CMA guidance on price transparency, updated on 7 January 2026, already covers mandatory charges, drip pricing and partitioned pricing. In other words, the law already requires pricing information to be clear; the new consultation is about whether certain discount claims should be expressly prohibited rather than assessed under broader rules. (gov.uk) Recent enforcement gives that context some weight. In May 2026, the CMA said Emma Sleep had admitted breaking consumer law through misleading countdown timers, false ‘high demand’ messages and discount claims, while the authority also noted that the separate ‘was/now’ pricing issue was proceeding through court action. In June 2026, the CMA used its newer powers to require Marks Electrical to refund customers and pay a fine over pre-selected paid extras. (gov.uk)
The second arm of the announcement concerns subscription traps. Number 10 said the new ‘easy to exit’ rules will now come into force in January 2027. That is a notable date change: the Department for Business and Trade’s consultation response, published on 2 April 2026, had anticipated commencement in spring 2027, so the 9 August announcement appears to bring implementation forward by several months. (gov.uk) The underlying regime is already set out in the 2024 Act and subsequent government response documents. It covers contracts where a consumer must take action to stop an auto-renewal or to prevent a free or discounted period from rolling into a paid arrangement. The government’s settled approach includes clearer pre-contract information, reminder notices before trials end or before 12-month-plus contracts renew, straightforward cancellation arrangements including online exits for online sign-ups, and a new 14-day renewal cooling-off period after a trial or long fixed-term contract renews. (legislation.gov.uk)
The consumer case for earlier commencement is straightforward. Number 10 said there are around 155 million active subscriptions in the UK, with consumers spending an estimated £1.6 billion a year on subscriptions they do not want. A Department for Business and Trade press release from 2 April 2026 added that nearly 10 million subscriptions are believed to be unwanted, that over 3.5 million people are rolled from free or discounted trials into full-price contracts, and that consumers could save about £14 a month for each unwanted subscription cancelled. (gov.uk) The business message is more mixed than the political presentation suggests. Number 10 said firms that already provide clear renewal notice and simple exit routes should face limited operational change, while benefiting from a more level market. The government has also confirmed that charitable memberships for cultural and heritage organisations will be excluded from the subscription regime, following the April 2026 consultation response. (gov.uk)
For enforcement, the wider point is that the CMA now has materially stronger tools than it had under the previous regime. The authority said in May 2026 that, since April 2025, it can decide independently whether consumer law has been broken without first going to court, and can impose penalties of up to 10% of global turnover as well as secure consumer refunds. That shifts these proposals from messaging to compliance risk. (gov.uk) For retailers and subscription businesses, the immediate task is preparation rather than waiting for the last draft of legislation. As an inference from the government’s 9 August announcement, the April 2026 subscription response and the CMA’s current pricing guidance, traders should now review the evidence used for reference prices and RRPs, examine whether trial conversion notices are prominent and timely, and test whether cancellation journeys are genuinely equivalent to sign-up routes, especially online. (gov.uk)
The measures also sit within a clear sequence of early Burnham government announcements. On 21 July 2026, the government said it would remove VAT from household electricity bills from 1 October 2026, and on 22 July 2026 it announced a £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January 2027. The 9 August consumer package is therefore being positioned as part of a broader cost-of-living programme rather than a standalone consumer law reform. (gov.uk) What follows is now procedural but important. The misleading discounts consultation is due in autumn 2026, while subscription regulations and guidance must be finalised ahead of the new January 2027 start date set out by Number 10. For consumers, the intended result is simpler cancellation and fewer false savings claims. For business, the period between August 2026 and January 2027 is now a defined compliance window. (gov.uk)