The Countryside Alliance has written to Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October, calling on him to use his first Budget to support rural communities as part of the government’s mission to deliver “good growth in every postcode”.
The letter, sent from Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Tim Bonner, sets out ten measures the Alliance would like to see implemented across areas including fuel, farming, rural businesses, and racing. One of the most pressing is fuel, with the Alliance calling for the 5p fuel duty cut, first introduced in March 2022, to be made permanent, alongside a temporary cut to the 20% rate of VAT on fuel as an emergency measure.
With global oil prices rising sharply, diesel at record highs, and winter approaching, the Alliance warns that rural residents and businesses are disproportionately affected by living and operating in more remote areas and are bearing the brunt of higher costs. While the government has already cut VAT on electricity bills, the letter asks the Chancellor to extend the same “breathing space” to the thousands of rural homes that rely on heating oil and have limited alternative choices by cutting VAT on it to zero.
On farming, the Alliance asks the Chancellor to revisit the inheritance tax reliefs behind the “family farm tax”, warning that the changes risk making it harder for viable farms in areas of high land value to be passed to the next generation.
For rural businesses, it calls for relief on Employers’ National Insurance – through either a lower headline rate or a return of the Secondary Threshold to £9,100 – and on racing, it calls for reform of the Horserace Betting Levy, which raises around £108 million a year. Betting turnover on British racing has fallen 19% since 2022/23. The Alliance also demands that affordability checks are proportionate and developed in consultation with the racing and betting industries themselves.
The letter is the latest intervention as part of the Alliance’s Campaign for the Countryside, which launched at an event last month in Westminster, with speeches from Labour grandee Lord Blunkett and former Prime Minister Lord Cameron.
The campaign was launched following analysis that identified 27 damaging policies that have been imposed on rural communities since 2024, from the family farm tax and National Insurance rises to affordability checks on horse racing and plans to ban trail hunting. Supporters in 95% of UK constituencies have since written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling for a “rural reset”.
Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, said:
“John Healey’s first Budget is a chance for the government to show it has heard the message from rural Britain. After two years in which rural communities across the country have faced damaging policy after damaging policy, many rural people feel they are not being heard. This Budget is an opportunity to change that.
“With winter approaching, fuel is the most pressing concern. In the countryside a car is a necessity, so making the 5p fuel duty cut permanent and easing VAT would make a genuine difference to household and business bills.
“The Prime Minister has promised good growth in every postcode. The measures we have set out are practical and achievable, and acting on them would show that the government is serious about a rural reset. We stand ready to work with the Chancellor and his officials to make that happen.”
The full letter to the Chancellor is available here.
Add your voice to the campaign here.