‘Botched’ Budget does not deliver for North Devon says local MP

North Devon’s MP has said the Chancellor’s Budget failed to deliver the investment and change needed for local farmers, the struggling social care system and the long-overdue upgrades at North Devon District Hospital.

Ian Roome instead branded it a ‘botched Budget’ and said instead it ‘delivered a tax bombshell for millions’ by extending the freeze on income tax thresholds.

He has been speaking following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget delivered to Parliament yesterday (Wednesday, November 26), which saw income tax thresholds frozen for longer, a lifting of the two-child benefit cap, a tax on EVs and ISA tax-free savings amounts reduced.

On Budget day, Mr Roome also joined thousands of farmers at a protest and rally in Westminster to call on the Government to reverse its ‘family farm tax’ which has placed an £1million inheritance tax cap on passing on farms and assets to the next generation.

READ NEXT: Budget holds few surprises after Chancellor’s plans are leaked early

Mr Roome said: “The Budget has piled more pressure on ordinary people in North Devon while ducking the big decisions like investment in our hospital or support for family farms. Freezing tax thresholds again is a stealth tax on people who are already struggling.”

North Devon’s Liberal Democrat MP did acknowledge there were ‘some limited positives’ as he described it.

He added: “There was some fleeting good news for small businesses, like lower business rates for over 750,000 smaller firms.

“But refusing to cut VAT for hospitality was a big mistake; an emergency VAT cut until April 2027 would have provided much needed relief to local high streets and protected jobs.”

One of Mr Roome’s key campaign issues has been to call for more funding for North Devon District Hospital after its major rebuild was delayed and not now expected until 2025, but the Budget failed to announce additional funding or a change to that timetable.

Mr Roome said: “This is bitterly disappointing. The Chancellor had an opportunity to back North Devon by speeding up investment in our hospital and chose not to take it.

“The Government should have guaranteed that no patient, doctor or nurse at NDDH will have to put up with outdated facilities.”

Above: Ian Roome with concerned farmers in London yesterday.

While there was some small changes to the family farm tax, including enabling farmers with spouses alive or dead to transfer their inheritance tax allowance to one another, Mr Roome said this was not enough.

He added: “I met thousands of farmers who travelled to Westminster to plead for the Chancellor’s support and this Government has shamefully turned its back on them.

“Tinkering around the edges of the family farm tax will do nothing to reduce its devastating impact. It risks forcing many family farms in North Devon to close their gates for good.”

Summing up his thoughts on the Autumn Budget, he went on: “This is a Budget from a Chancellor who sees the problem but won’t fix it.

“Living standards are still being squeezed and the Government’s own watchdog says tax rises are continuing to hit families. Yet the Chancellor offered almost nothing for those struggling right now.

“Energy bills won’t fall until 2026, which is too late for households already counting every penny. The Government should have been far bolder and adopted the Liberal Democrat plan to cut bills and give immediate relief to ordinary families.

“Yes, the pound has stabilised, and borrowing costs are currently down... but we can't tax our way to economic growth.

“I will continue to work with my Liberal Democrat colleagues to secure a fairer deal for North Devon and the real change people in our area were promised.”