Budget is a ‘massive missed opportunity’ for Britain’s food production, says NFU
NFU President Tom Bradshaw reacts to the government’s Autumn Budget and its failure to support British food production or strengthen the nation’s food security.
Reacting to the Autumn Budget, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “Today was an opportunity for government to act on the warm words it made over the summer. It has failed to act and has left farmers feeling abandoned.
“The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) has reflected that the food price inflation outlook is significantly higher than previous forecasts. Yet the government has failed to link domestic food production to food-price inflation; has missed the opportunity to deliver on its commitment that ‘food security is national security’; and failed to give farm businesses the ‘breathing space’ that the Chancellor said that this Budget was for.
“While the extension to the red diesel relief is welcome, fuel prices today are 65% higher than a year ago, so will offer minimal relief to the cash flow crisis facing farming businesses. This feels like tinkering while Rome is burning. Action could have been taken on extending the Annual Investment Allowance to include infrastructure such as on-farm reservoirs or new poultry housing; action could have been taken to ease the dire cash flow impacting farms and our food producing businesses; and action should have been taken to reverse the investment-stifling family farm tax.
“Ignoring these actions means that the bottlenecks holding back domestic food production and the overall confidence of the sector have not been addressed. It’s failed to respond to the concerns of those across retail, food manufacturing and the wider supply chain serving 29 million households.
“This was pitched as the ‘Budget for the working people of Britain’. Farmers and growers will not be feeling this extends to them. Today the phrase ‘food security is national security’ feels nothing but a hollow promise.”
NFU’s road to the Budget
Ahead of the Budget, the NFU urged the Chancellor to use the opportunity to strengthen Britain’s food security.
Our key asks would have helped to reduce the cost of producing food, restored farm business confidence by encouraging investment and supported domestic food production after a brutal summer.
Building momentum around our asks, NFU lobbying has included securing key meetings with decision-makers, briefing MPs on the challenges farmers’ are facing and bringing together leading supermarket retailers to back our ask on the Annual Investment Allowance, relentlessly making the case for farming on a regional and a national level.
See all of our work on the Budget in one place – NFU’s road to the Budget 2026 – timeline of our work
Check back on this page for more updates.
