Chancellor Rachel Reeves offers nothing to ease growing crisis on Britain’s farms.
With investment falling, support schemes scrapped, and inheritance tax reform looming, farmers say the government’s message is clear — “you’re on your own.”
Rachel Reeves unveiled a fresh round of spending cuts in her Spring Statement yesterday, but left Britain’s struggling farmers and landowners out in the cold — as pressing concerns around inheritance tax and rural support schemes went entirely unaddressed.
Delivering her update to the Commons on 26 March, the Chancellor warned that the “world has changed” following recent geopolitical upheavals, and confirmed that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had halved its UK growth forecasts, predicting growth of just 1% in 2025.
Inflation, meanwhile, is now expected to average 3.2% this year, up from 2.5% predicted in October. Productivity progress is also forecast to slow.
And while Ms Reeves ruled out further tax rises, she revealed welfare cuts, including a 50% reduction in the health component of Universal Credit for new claimants, followed by a freeze — sparking concern among social care and disability groups.
Tax Burden Hits Record Levels
The tax burden is now expected to soar to a record 37.7% of GDP by 2027–28, up from 35.3% this year — with frozen thresholds quietly pulling millions into higher tax brackets. Although the Chancellor resisted headline-grabbing tax hikes, she announced new anti-tax avoidance measures, which aim to raise an additional £1 billion for the Treasury.
No Relief for Farmers or the Countryside
But for Britain’s farming community, the message was clear: don’t expect help anytime soon.
The Chancellor made no mention of any concessions for family farms impacted by Labour’s controversial inheritance tax reforms, despite mounting pressure from the sector. The £1 million cap on Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), proposed in last October’s Autumn Statement, remains unchanged.
And just weeks after Defra slammed the brakes on new applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) — a key scheme supporting environmentally conscious agriculture — Reeves failed to offer any clarity or replacement.
Confidence in Farming ‘Plummeting’
NFU President Tom Bradshaw sounded the alarm on the growing crisis in the countryside, warning that confidence and investment in British farming is “plummeting.”
“I agree with the Chancellor, our world is changing, and we are facing an increasingly insecure global stage,” Mr Bradshaw said.
“Safeguarding our food security is an essential part of the nation’s ability to remain resilient to international shocks.“We want to work with government to deliver the foundations for food security, economic growth and environmental delivery — and we have the blueprints to support this.”
‘A Dark Day for the Environment’
James Gilboy, a regenerative farmer from the Downlands Estate in Hampshire, warned that Reeves’ policies could devastate rural sustainability. He told Farming UK:
“Policies that impose financial burdens on farmers will only discourage them from pursuing more sustainable farming methods,” he said.
“The removal of the Sustainable Farming Incentive sends a clear message to UK farmers that sustainability doesn’t matter.”
“It’s a dark day for the environment and the countryside, which farmers across the UK work tirelessly to protect and sustain.”
‘Spending Cuts Statement’ Misses the Mark
In Farming UK, Simon Blackburn, Head of Agriculture at Wedlake Bell, said the Spring Statement failed to follow up on key concerns from last autumn.
“This spring statement was all about spending cuts,” he said.
“Many issues which the Autumn Statement raised and that are very important to people across the UK remain unaddressed.
“Despite this, there was a promise of a drive to increase housebuilding, which will likely be welcome news to housebuilders and landowners alike.”
While Ms Reeves seeks to present herself as fiscally responsible, critics say her silence on the plight of rural Britain speaks volumes. With investment falling, support schemes scrapped, and inheritance tax reform looming, farmers say the government’s message is clear — “you’re on your own.”
