The CLA view

As we approach the festive season it is really quite hard to muster any Christmas cheer.

The reverberations of the government’s Autumn Budget are still being felt and the CLA is continuing to challenge many of the announcements that were made in October – both publicly and behind closed doors.

It came as no surprise to see the findings of a new poll showing Labour is losing the countryside, with results indicating voters are rejecting the party over the budget backlash.

A Survation poll of over 1,000 people in England’s 100 most rural seats, commissioned by the CLA, exposes the damage the budget has done to Labour in rural communities.

Twice as many voters (66%) say Labour doesn’t “understand or respect rural communities,” up from 33% before the election, and more than half of voters (57%) say they trust Labour less.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of Labour voters from July are “unhappy” with their vote. As a result, Labour drops into third place across England’s most rural constituencies, behind the Conservatives (34%) and Reform (21%).

The polling also shows deepening fears over Labour’s rural agenda, with 60% saying it’s already broken its pledge to reverse countryside decline, and 70% doubting its ability to boost the rural economy.

When you consider the announcements that were in the budget, the statistics should really come as no surprise with much of the news making bleak reading.

Employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) up, the baseline for paying NICs down and business and agricultural property relief diminished - it felt as though every encouragement for rural businesses to prudently grow and invest was gone. Add in an announcement last week that there is a pause on capital grants (which help farmers cover the cost of items that deliver specific environmental benefits) and confidence from the industry takes another knock.

We are taking the fight to the Treasury and Defra ministers – not on sentiment but on the hard facts that show many of these measures threaten the viability of many rural businesses. Our arguments against proposed inheritance tax changes for example have been used repeatedly in both Houses of Parliament and by backbench rural MPs who are feeling the heat.

The CLA’s latest economic modelling of arable farms reveals the devastating impact of inheritance tax on rural businesses.

A typical 200-acre farm owned by an individual could face a £370,000 bill, wiping out more than 100% of annual profits. Even couples aren’t spared, with a 350-acre arable farm facing a £475,000 hit, erasing 99% of profits for the next decade.

Family-run farms – which are typically asset-rich but cash-poor – would be forced at best into a cycle of stagnation, asset sales, or debt to cover this tax burden, threatening the long-term viability of the UK’s rural landscape and food security.

The simple truth is that agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) are not loopholes, they are necessary tax reliefs for multi-generational rural businesses.

Rural communities aren’t here to be taxed and forgotten. We’re here to drive growth, to feed the nation, and to fuel the economy. All we want is a government that matches our ambition.

The Christmas period will be an opportunity for everyone to recharge their batteries and spend valuable time with family and friends. But as we head into 2025, the CLA will not falter in its support for rural communities and will continue to hold the government to account for its reckless decisions.