𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

British farmers will get a cut in fertiliser costs, but rural campaigners have warned it barely scratches the surface of the crisis gripping the countryside. Ministers have announced a reduction in tariffs on imported fertiliser, coming into force on Thursday, November 26, as part of a package of measures to ease pressure on household and business budgets.

The Government hopes the move will drive down prices by letting importers source fertiliser from a wider range of countries, including some that currently face a tariff. But the Countryside Alliance warned that soaring energy and fuel bills were still bleeding farmers dry, and demanded the Chancellor, John Healey, go much further in Wednesday’s Budget

Labour has previously been accused of attacking the countryside with inheritance tax changes for family farms, cutting funding for some rural councils and pushing up costs for the food industry with a new packaging tax.

David Bean, of the Countryside Alliance, said: “A cut in fertiliser tariffs, hopefully leading to price reductions, is welcome given the strain that the whole food and farming sector is under.

“It makes no sense for the government to be adding to farmers’ costs deliberately.”

He warned the tariff cut was just one fix for a sector being hammered from all sides.

Mr Bean said: “Fertiliser prices are, however, only one of a whole series of pressures being heaped on the sector, not least the costs of energy and fuel.”

The rural campaign group has put 10 policy proposals to the Chancellor ahead of the Budget. They include making the 5p fuel duty cut permanent, considering a temporary VAT cut on fuel, and cutting the non-domestic VAT rate on heating oil, which many off-grid rural homes and businesses rely on.

Mr Bean added: “We hope the government use the Budget to reset their relationship with rural people.”

Mr Healey will deliver his first Budget as Chancellor on Wednesday, October 28, with the Office for Budget Responsibility publishing its latest economic forecast on the same day.

The tariff cut comes after a bruising period for Labour in the countryside, with farmers still furious over the hated Family Farm Tax – the changes to inheritance tax on farms.

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle insisted the Government was on farmers’ side.

She said: “This government is taking decisive action to help ease rising input costs, giving farming businesses more room to breathe.

“Cutting fertiliser tariffs is a straightforward way to back British agriculture, strengthen supply chains and support the sector.”

Dame Angela added: “This will help ease the pressure on farmers while opening up more choice and supporting food production here at home.”

The measure was announced in a Treasury package billed as “everyday fixes” which will “give families a bit of breathing space”.

Tariffs are also being cut on more than 100 products, including baked beans, chocolate and gherkins, which the Treasury says will save households up to £21 a year on their food shop.

Mr Healey is also expected to confirm a 3.9% rise in the national living wage alongside the Budget, taking it from £12.71 to around £13.20 an hour from April 2027.