Image source, Senedd Cymru

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, says the budget was one of “broken promises and brutal betrayal”.

Highlights the “anger, concern and fear felt by farmers and those dependent on the farming industry when they have been so bitterly betrayed by their party”, in relation to the UK Labor government’s removal of the UK Labor exemption Inheritance tax for farms worth more than £1 million. .

The Prime Minister says the Conservatives left a “£22bn black hole” and warns against “scaremongering” because “a very small proportion of Welsh farmers will be affected by that inheritance tax”.

In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that while there would continue to be no inheritance tax on combined business and agricultural assets worth less than £1m, above that there would be 50% relief. , at an effective rate of 20%. starting April 2026.

For years, APR tax relief has allowed small family farms, including land used for crops or animal husbandry, as well as farm buildings, cottages and houses, to be passed down from generation to generation.

Davies also refers to the “increase in national insurance that will have such a devastating impact – a jobs tax, a jobs tax that the chancellor highlighted in opposition and so did the business secretary. We know that many businesses will be affected by this, but also…those in the charitable sector, such as hospices, and those who perform many of the primary roles in the health service, such as GPs, optometrists and pharmacists.”

The Prime Minister says: “This is a UK Government budget and they had to make some very, very difficult decisions. And those difficult decisions include the need to fix the foundations of our communities and our societies, including the economy, but more important still, public services, after 14 years of conservative abandonment.

Image source, Public address media