Could the government ever whip out the ration book? Yes, but only in a scenario so grim it would make a zombie apocalypse look like a garden party. Think major war, a complete shutdown of North Sea oil, or a giant meteor hitting the refineries in Fawley. Short of that, the modern system is built to crash, not to slowly snap like a twig.
Rationing is a political nuclear option. Imagine the headlines: "Granny Denied Fuel for Her Austin Metro." It’s the kind of thing that loses elections faster than a picture of a politician kicking a puppy. So, officials will pull every other lever first—price caps, panic warnings, even sending in the Royal Tank Regiment to do deliveries—before they resort to coupons.
They could do it, but they won’t until the situation is so dire that "Stock up on crisps and hope for the best" is the official government advice. And by then, we’ll all be too busy fighting over the last bag of Quavers to care about petrol.
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