Chancellor’s Budget betrays promised reset with farmers, says UFU

Chancellor’s Budget betrays promised reset with farmers, says UFU

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has strongly criticised the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, highlighting the Government’s failure to support Northern Ireland’s farming families, protect national food security and seize a critical opportunity to deliver on its promised reset with the agricultural industry.

Despite months of engagement and repeated warnings, the Chancellor has failed to deliver meaningful action on the issues threatening family farming, most notably the damaging changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and inheritance tax.

The UFU said the extension of the fuel duty freeze until July offers very limited short-term relief but falls woefully short of the decisive action needed to restore confidence, encourage investment and protect domestic food production.

UFU president John McLenaghan said, “The Government has spent months talking about rebuilding trust and resetting its relationship with farmers. This Budget was its opportunity to prove those promises meant something. Instead, the Chancellor has damaged trust even further by failing to act.

“Farmers have heard enough warm words and empty assurances. We have engaged constructively, presented strong evidence and made it abundantly clear what needs to change. The Government knew exactly what was at stake and still failed to act.

“The failure to address the damaging inheritance tax changes is unacceptable. These measures threaten family farm succession, undermine investment and put the future of generations of farming families at risk. Yet our concerns have once again been ignored.

“Extending the fuel duty freeze until July does not come close to addressing the pressures facing agriculture. Farmers needed decisive action, not another Budget that leaves them carrying the burden of Government inaction.”

Ahead of the Budget, the UFU submitted its comprehensive ‘A Budget to Back Farming’ proposals to the Treasury, setting out ten key measures to support the industry, strengthen national food security and protect the future of family farming.

Mr McLenaghan continued, “The Government have consistently maintained that they treat food security as a matter of national security, yet when given the opportunity to back up those words with meaningful action, the Government has failed to deliver. You cannot claim food security is a national priority while pursuing policies that undermine the very farmers responsible for producing our food.”

“Backing farming is about protecting our ability to produce food, sustaining rural jobs and ensuring the next generation has a viable industry to inherit. Every farming business lost weakens our domestic food production capacity.

“Farmers were promised a reset. What they have received is another failure to deliver. This Budget has exposed the gulf between Government promises and political action. The UFU will not accept warm words as a substitute for meaningful change, and we will continue to hold the Government to account until it delivers for our members.”