Heather Grisedale 😊

This Budget offered the Chancellor the opportunity to reset its relationship with the countryside. Today, however, he showed little interest in seizing that chance.   Extending small business rates relief could help rural businesses, but coupled with hikes in employment costs it remains to be seen whether hardworking rural business owners will see any real benefit. Additionally, while temporarily extending the red diesel duty cut and suspending tariffs on kerosene heating oil and fertiliser are welcome moves, it will come as little solace to farmers still facing enormous threats to their livelihoods.   Before becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham pledged to revisit the hated Family Farm Tax. He has failed to do so. This tax continues to tarnish the government’s rural record. It is preventing farmers from making important decisions about their livelihoods, hampering the government’s own mission of creating good growth in every postcode. Working with the custodians of our countryside, we will continue to vocally oppose this tax and call for its abolition.   Additionally, farmers have been encouraged for years to diversify their businesses by creating holiday lets, among other measures; but anyone who has done so is now being punished by yet another increase to the property income tax paid on such lets, further threatening the viability of their business.   At a time when the government should be increasing support for farmers and in the wake of last month’s Sustainable Farming Incentive fiasco, it has slashed DEFRA's funding for 2027-28 by £100m.   This Budget does little to give “breathing space” or fresh hope for the countryside. If this government is serious about growth in every postcode, including in the countryside, it must urgently address the plethora of problems facing rural businesses. Scrapping the Family Farm Tax is the only way to turn a new leaf. @CAupdates