In the run up to the Autumn Budget questions were already being asked about how the Labour administration plans to fill the “£22 billion black hole”, which Sir Keir Starmer quoted was left over from the previous government.
This Autumn Budget will be like no other, with huge pressure on departmental budgets as the Chancellor seeks savings across government.
The agriculture budget is as much in the firing line as any other, and we need MPs to understand just how important it is not only for food security, but for the environment and economic growth.
Speaking on the ninth, annual Back British Farming Day, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “While in opposition we heard consistently from Labour that food security is national security. The Prime Minister, speaking at NFU Conference last year, pledged that Labour ‘aspires to govern for every corner of our country, and will seek a new relationship with the countryside and farming communities on this basis, a relationship based on respect and on genuine partnership’.
“We now need to see those ambitions realised. Today we’re calling on government to truly value UK food security by delivering a renewed and enhanced multi-annual agriculture budget of £5.6 billion on the 30 October.
“This budget is essential in giving Britain’s farmers and growers the confidence they desperately need to invest for the future and deliver on our joint ambitions on producing more sustainable, affordable homegrown food while creating more jobs and delivering for nature, energy security and climate-friendly farming.”
Budget breakdown
Independent work from the Andersons Centre commissioned by the NFU has suggested an annual budget in England of around £4 billion is needed:
- around £2.7 billion to meet the government’s environmental goals
- £615 million for driving productivity
- £720 million to support the economic stability of agricultural businesses
Respecting the nature of devolved government, we estimate this would translate to a UK-wide budget of around £5.6 billion.
This will allow a fair transition away from the old EU system, to one that delivers public good for public funds, gives farmers the confidence to invest, and makes the government’s aims around sustainable food production, food security, the environment and net zero possible.
What is the Autumn Budget?
The Budget is a statement made by the Chancellor to MPs in the House of Commons, presenting the government’s plans for the economy, including changes to taxation and spending.
The UK government's Budget is one of the most important events in the country's economic calendar which takes place annually and usually, in the autumn. This year the date is set for 30 October and is particularly significant as it will be the first for the new Labour government and their chance to set out their financial priorities for the next parliament.
The Budget has several key purposes including, managing public finances, ensuring economic stability and long-term financial sustainability as well as to provide accountability and transparency of the Government.
After the Budget statement, MPs may be asked to approve immediate changes to some taxes. There is then a debate in the Commons, normally lasting four days.
See our progress on the fight for the farming budget.
NFU criticises PM's comments on rationale for IHT changes
NFU President Tom Bradshaw branded the proposed changes to APR and BPR “an indiscriminate revenue-raising measure”.
This followed the Prime Minister’s appearance in front of the Liaison Committee where he stated that the purpose of the changes was to “raise revenue in the Budget”.
Read more about the committee session.
Photograph: Parliament tv
NFU signs letter calling for full consultation on IHT changes
The NFU is one of 32 trade associations that have joined forces through an open letter to the Chancellor, calling for a full and formal consultation on the proposed changes to inheritance tax.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “No one thinks this is a good policy, not even the government’s own advisers. It’s time for Treasury to listen to farmers and the multiple other organisations calling for these proposals to be opened up for consultation.”
Photograph: Alex MacNaughton / Alamy
NFU President sends #StopTheFamilyFarmTax Christmas cards to MPs
NFU President Tom Bradshaw sends Christmas cards to all English and Welsh MPs calling on them to #StopTheFamilyFarmTax.
The image on the Christmas card depicts a row of empty wellies belonging to a farming family.
Photograph: Getty
NFU President writes to the Prime Minister and meets with the Defra Secretary of State
NFU President Tom Bradshaw writes to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on farmers' concerns regarding the impacts of proposed changes to APR and BPR.
Tom also meets with the Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed to discuss the effects of wider government policy on British farmers and growers.
NFU tells government crucial covenant feels broken
NFU President Tom Bradshaw gives evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee on the impacts of proposed changes to APR and BPR on the farming sector and wider rural communities.
Summarising the historic and current relationship between farming and the government, Tom says: “Ever since World War II, there has been a covenant between farming and government – that farming gets on and does its job of producing food, and it’s never really been about the returns, it’s been about that way of life, that heritage, that custodianship.
“Unfortunately with all the other changes in the Budget, along with this one, it feels like this covenant has been broken.”
Read NFU external affairs adviser Neeve McGinty's report.
Photograph: Parliament tv
NFU announces next steps for campaign to stop the family farm tax
NFU Council meets to agree a plan to take us through the Christmas period and January, as we start to approach the Finance Bill, the piece of legislation that would make the Chancellor’s tax raid on farms law.
- A new email your MP tool for members launches to keep the pressure on MPs. We want to combine this with targeted meetings where MPs meet farmers together with their accountants to really understand why the Treasury’s insistence that few people will be affected is wrong.
- We're also asking members to get involved in a huge banner campaign, using roadside banners, gate banners and car stickers, right across the whole UK.
- We're building towards a milestone event at Lamma in January, which there’ll be more information on soon.
Family farm tax debated in parliament
The Conservative Party uses its Opposition Day to table a motion against the government's proposed changes to APR.
Read NFU external affairs manager Emma Crosby's report.
Photograph: BBC
NFU holds banking roundtable
At its bi-annual banking roundtable, the NFU holds crucial discussions with several major banks to assess the potential impact of the government's recent Budget on farm business confidence and investment.
Public backs NFU campaign to overturn family farm tax
On 1 November, the NFU launches the campaign urging the government to think again following its Autumn Budget announcement.
NFU members, British farmers and the public joined forces to call on the government to reverse its decision on the APR (Agricultural Property Relief), with more than 120,000 people adding their names to the campaign action to stop the family farm tax.
An impact analysis of APR reforms on commercial family farms
We consult with former Treasury and Office for Budget Responsibility economists and publish an analysis of the impacts of the APR reforms on commercial family farms. This analysis demonstrates why we believe that the Treasury is working off the wrong figures.
NFU President meets with Prime Minister
NFU President Tom Bradshaw meets Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a one-on-one meeting to hear directly from Tom about farmers’ concerns.
They discuss the impact of changes to inheritance taxes on farms, alongside a number of other topics including food security, trade and farming and growing in the UK more widely.
Family farm tax most unpopular measure in Autumn Budget, new polling finds
New polling, carried out by Portland this week, shows that changes to inheritance taxation on family farms are unpopular, and that perceptions that Labour does not value rural voters as highly as urban ones are building.
Inheritance tax on farms is revealed to be the joint most unpopular measure in the Budget, tied with changes to pensions.
The news comes as the NFU's campaign action to stop the family farm tax gains more than 255,000 signatures.
NFU organises a mass lobby to stop the family farm tax
Farmers and growers descend on London to meet with their MPs as part of the NFU’s call to action to reverse the family farm tax. NFU President Tom Bradshaw opens the mass lobby with an impassioned speech in Church House, Westminster with the presidents of the other UK farming unions on stage. Members then went to tell their story to their MPs.
Support for the call to action quickly rises with over 231,000 members of the public joining the call to overturn the family farm tax.
NFU meets with Defra and Treasury to discuss Inheritance Tax
NFU President Tom Bradshaw meets Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed and Treasury Minister James Murray to outline the impact of Inheritance Tax changes on family farms and national food security.
NFU leads calls for family farm tax to be reversed
Britain’s farmers and growers will take part in a mass lobby of their MPs on 19 November to highlight the devastating impact of the recent budget on their farms, with changes to Agricultural Property Relief dealing a hammer blow to farming families.
Show your support and call for the government to overturn the family farm tax.
Photograph: Mike Booth / Alamy
Budget blow for British farming, says NFU
The NFU responds to Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget announcement, warning that new measures could lead to food price rises.
New measures include changes to APR (Agricultural Property Relief) that are likely to impact significant numbers of farm estates, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and an above-inflation hike in the NLW (National Living Wage), with the rate for over 21s increasing 6.7% to £12.21 from April.
Farming industry writes to Chancellor amid fears of inheritance tax relief changes
The UK farming industry comes together to warn the Chancellor about the crippling effect changes to inheritance tax reliefs, including APR and BPR, would have on family farms, tenant farmers, domestic food security and environmental delivery.
Photograph: Alex MacNaughton / Alamy
APR changes would put family farms at risk, warns NFU
Reports that the Treasury is considering major changes to agricultural property relief as part of the forthcoming budget spark concern among farmers and growers.
NFU analysis of APR suggests that scrapping it would only save the Treasury £120 million per year, while the negative impact on farming would be much larger.
The NFU secures a debate in parliament this on the issue.
7 key Autumn Budget asks – NFU writes to the Chancellor
The NFU writes to the Chancellor outlining the key asks for farming – chief among them is the need for a multi-year agriculture budget of £5.6 billion.
We are also seeking confirmation that there will be no changes to APR (Agricultural Property Relief) which currently exempts farmland from inheritance tax.
The NFU believes that any removal of APR is unlikely to raise much in the way of tax, but could lead to a contraction in the amount of rental land for farmers.
Photograph: amanda rose / Alamy
Parliament debates the agriculture budget
Following NFU lobbying, MPs from across the House of Commons call on the government to deliver an increased agriculture budget after an opposition debate day raises the importance of farming to Britain’s food security, environment and economic growth.
NFU launches 'write to your MP' campaign action
NFU President Tom Bradshaw brands newly released Defra figures as “unacceptable”, after they showed a £130 million yearly underspend against plans between April 2023 and March 2024.
The NFU had repeatedly shared its concerns about this issue.
On Back British Farming Day, the NFU calls for the government to deliver a renewed and enhanced multi-annual agriculture budget of £5.6 billion in the Autumn Budget on 30 October.
The NFU hosts a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference with Food Security and Rural Affairs Minister Daniel Zeichner on the panel. We reiterate our call for an increased budget.
Defra Secretary commits to making farming's case to Treasury
At the NFU's Back British Farming Day parliamentary reception, Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed pledges to make farming’s case to the Treasury.
‘Food security is our shared mission’, Farming Minister tells NFU MP reception
NFU holds first parliamentary reception after the State Opening of the new parliament. NFU President Tom Bradshaw pushes Minister Daniel Zeichner on the budget.
NFU has first meeting with new Defra Secretary
NFU President Tom Bradshaw meets new Defra Secretary Steve Reed.
After the meeting Tom says: “Steve Reed has just outlined his plan for change and it’s good to hear that food security, the environment and flood management are all focus areas. These now need to be underpinned by a budget that will enable the necessary investment.”
NFU meets with parliamentary candidates
In the run up to the election the NFU meets with almost 400 candidates, ensuring our message on the budget is heard.
General election announced
The government announces a general election to take place on 4 July. The NFU continues to make the case for an agriculture budget that delivers for British farming and growing.
No. 10 hosts second Farm to Fork Summit
The NFU has secured major wins and explored ways to restore farmers’ confidence at the second Farm to Fork summit.
The summit coincides with several announcements which represent major wins for the NFU.
NFU launches its general election manifesto
The NFU launches its Farming for Britain’s Future key policy asks ahead of an anticipated general election. These asks contain research from The Andersons Centre that explains why a robust agriculture budget must deliver for the stability and productivity of farming alongside the environment.
