COLUMN by North Cotswolds MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

THE last week in Westminster has been over-shadowed by the Government’s first budget.

In my speech, I did mention there are some policies to be welcomed in the Budget such as the funding for the Post Office Horizon scandal and Infected Blood compensation schemes.

There was also funding committed to SEND which I know will be welcome across Gloucestershire.

There are many policies that are not welcomed, including the rise in National Insurance contributions for employers.

The Government insist this is not a tax on working people.

Yet, we have already had many big businesses such as Sainsbury’s and Morrisons saying that the hike will lead to lower wages in the future.

The hike will also have huge implications for smaller businesses too.

A 15% national insurance tax and a savage cut to the threshold, down from £9,100 to £5,000, will harm any business in my constituency employing more than four people.

It could be the difference between a business growing and providing more jobs and a business not surviving.

I have already had representations from GP surgeries and hospices raising their concerns with me about how this will affect their staffing costs.

I have taken this up with the Treasury through a written question, and hope that we get a satisfactory answer.

The hardworking farming community has also been dealt a massive blow by this budget.

After the Labour Party stated before, during and after the election that they would not be reforming Agricultural Property Relief (APR) or Business Property Relief (BPR), they have instead introduced a 20% tax on family farms worth more than £1 million.

The Chancellor has also confirmed that the spousal allowance will not be able to be transferred.

The introduction of this tax suggests that the Chancellor has completely misunderstood the purpose of APR; to ensure that farms are not split up or sold off when a farmer dies.

The Labour Party says they want to protect food production and promote food security, but this policy has just done the opposite.

The Chancellor and the Prime Minister have both stated that this will not affect a ‘vast majority’ of farms.

In fact, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ own analysis has suggested that two thirds of farms will be affected as they are worth more than £1 million when you include land, farm dwellings, machinery and other farming assets.

This destructive policy is only due to raise £520m a year for the Treasury by 2029-30, which is pittance compared to their other spending priorities.

Even if these predictions are wrong, the uncertainty that is now facing the farming community is unprecedented.

Mental health in the farming community is not promoted enough. Farming is not a hobby.

Many men and women get up at the crack of dawn, often working alone, for long hours in all weathers to ensure all of us get food on our table.

I have received emails and letters to that effect over the last week from farmers who are worried about their futures and their children’s futures, believing the Chancellor has destroyed everything they have worked for.

I, along with my Conservative colleagues, will continue to raise this at every opportunity with the Treasury, and again, I hope that it can be reversed to ensure that the fabric of our countryside is not destroyed by this reckless policy.