Nature

I was Jeremy Hunt’s main political adviser and helped put together multiple Autumn Statements and Budgets. This is what I think Rachel Reeves’s Budget means for the countryside

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Two years ago this week, I wasn’t sitting at home in West Sussex looking out over the local farm as I am now, I was in the Chancellor’s office at the Treasury, reflecting on his first month in office and starting preparations for his first Budget. Those days were spent pouring over tax policies and … Read more

Who buys flowers in the middle of the night? Boris Johnson, panicked brides, drunk people and London’s wealthiest inhabitants

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‘It’s a very strange idea,’ I tell David Cohen. The idea is Flower Station, on the edge of Regent’s Park, the capital’s only 24-hour physical flower shop. ‘I take that as a compliment,’ he replies. The shop never closes for one simple reason. They cannot fit all of their stock inside their small road-side premises, … Read more

The Budget: What do we need to fix a broken countryside, and what will we get?

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Helen Browning,
CEO of the Soil Association (Image credit: Soil Association) As we head into the Budget, I recognise the Government’s challenge in balancing the books, but few investments deliver better long-term returns than food, farming and the health of our children. The British public cares deeply about the countryside, wildlife, farmers, the food on our … Read more

‘I’m going to be the first in more than 100 years to sell anything off’: How the upcoming budget uncertainty is impacting young farmers

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With the Autumn budget fast approaching, there are continuing concerns about measures affecting farmers and landowners. Chief bogey is the removal of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) from all but farms worth under £1m and the levy of Inheritance Tax (IHT) on the rest. This is already in train, but there is speculation that reliefs will … Read more