Campaigners are pressing Chancellor John Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham to do more for British farmers and address rising food inflation in Wednesday's Budget. Senior MPs have called on the Government's top figures to help farmers manage increasing energy and hiring costs, and to scrap the controversial Family Farm Tax.
Mr Healey will deliver his first Budget as Chancellor on Wednesday, October 28, after being appointed to replace Rachel Reeves in July. Industry leaders have warned that soaring costs, including higher energy prices, have hit farmers and pushed up the price of food at the checkout.
Pressure from the Shadow Environment Secretary
On Tuesday, Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins intensified the pressure, saying that “the left hand of this government doesn’t know what the far-left hand is doing”. She noted that two weeks ago the Chancellor imposed a new tax on fertiliser, and this week he announced a reduction in tariffs on fertiliser.
“This confused approach to the rocketing business costs faced by farmers and rural businesses helps to explain why families are finding their food shopping ever more expensive,” she added. Ministers have announced a reduction in tariffs on foreign fertiliser in an attempt to bring down costs for farmers, hoping the move will reduce shelf prices and make the weekly food shop cheaper.
Ms Atkins said farmers were being bled dry “by increased energy costs, higher labour costs, the ever-expanding sea of red-tape” and the death tax on their land. Mr Healey is also expected to confirm a 3.9% rise in the national living wage alongside the Budget, taking it from £12.71 to around £13.20 an hour from April 2027.
Countryside Alliance Response
David Bean, of the Countryside Alliance, welcomed the fertiliser tariff cut but warned it was only one fix for a sector under pressure. “Fertiliser prices are, however, only one of a whole series of pressures being heaped on the sector, not least the costs of energy and fuel,” he said.
The Countryside Alliance has put 10 policies to the Chancellor ahead of the Budget, including making the 5p fuel duty cut permanent, a temporary VAT cut on fuel, and cutting the non-domestic VAT rate on heating oil, which many off-grid rural homes and businesses rely on. Mr Bean added: “We hope the government uses the Budget to reset their relationship with rural people.”
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle insisted the Government was on farmers’ side. “Cutting fertiliser tariffs is a straightforward way to back British agriculture, strengthen supply chains and support the sector,” she said. She added that this would help ease pressure on farmers while opening up more choice and supporting food production at home.
