Rural Communities

Cameron Thomas Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Dyke]

The Liberal Democrats have set out a number of different policies to help shape that £1 billion investment. Being part of the customs union would certainly be part of that, and it would bring in billions extra, as the hon. Gentleman well knows. There is much more we can do.

Nothing has done more to increase the cost of living and of farming and to reduce farm incomes than the Conservatives’ botched Brexit, which made it more expensive and burdensome for British farmers and fishers to export to their main markets in the EU, beleaguering their workforces and undermining their protections for animal welfare and the environment. The Conservative Government set a dangerous precedent for future trade agreements, given what they negotiated and how they went about it. They stripped away parliamentary scrutiny and forced terrible deals through, which gave unfair advantage to imports from countries with poorer standards over the higher-quality standards of British farmers.

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

We have heard an awful lot of criticism of the Government’s policies on farming from the Conservatives, but very little mention of the trade deals that they secured with Australia and New Zealand, which have made things so much harder for farmers—we will undoubtedly hear a lot about those from Labour Members. Will my hon. Friend join me in asking the Government to commit to rejecting chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef from the United States?

[Sarah Dyke]

As my hon. Friend would expect, I totally agree with him.

The Liberal Democrats want to ensure that British farmers operate on a level playing field and can succeed. That is why last year I introduced the Dairy Products and Dairy Farming Bill. Farm-gate milk prices have plummeted over the past few months; now, cereal prices are also under serious pressure. The Liberal Democrats are clear: we need fairness in the supply chain. When farming businesses fail, there is a knock-on impact on local hospitality—pubs, cafés, restaurants and hotels.

Somerset is a tourism region. It supports nearly 10% of all jobs and contributes more than £1 billion to the regional economy. Many of the fantastic hospitality businesses in Glastonbury and Somerton are under immense pressure as they face huge rates increases from April. Miranda contacted me today. She manages the White Hart pub in Castle Cary, and faces her rateable value going from around £19,000 a year to over £30,000 a year. Meanwhile, the British Institute of Innkeeping states that only one in three pubs are profitable, and warns that that could drop to one in 10 by April.

The hospitality sector already faces £4.5 billion in additional taxes due to increased national insurance contributions in the 2024 Budget. The Liberal Democrats have been calling for an emergency 5% VAT cut for hospitality, accommodation and attraction businesses until April 2027, funded by a new windfall tax on big banks. Combined with our policy to reduce people’s energy bills by removing the main renewables levy, we could put £270 back into people’s pockets, making it more affordable for them to heat their home, and allowing them to spend more on occasional extras. That would help to drive economic growth in rural areas, restore our high streets, and give the country a much-needed morale boost. It would also help rural areas to grow the economy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

Ahead of the election in Tewkesbury, considering my defence background, I recognised that I did not fully understand the experiences nor the lifestyles that come with rurality, so I began reaching out. I made visits; I spoke with people, listened to them and heard them. If someone wants to represent people or is likely to make decisions that will directly impact people, they should first exercise their due diligence. I am not convinced that this Government fully understood farmers, publicans or hoteliers prior to announcing their economic plans for the country, though if the Conservative party does understand rurality, its legacy is every bit as damning.

Following more than a year of consistent lobbying, the Government recently made some, to be fair, pretty significant concessions to farmers, and I credit Gloucestershire NFU and my local farmers, including Charles Day, for the part they played. Gloucestershire publicans and hoteliers, who are still reeling from the 2024 autumn Budget, feel no better off following the last Budget. I would not suggest that banning Labour MPs from their pubs is the right way to go about changing that, so I will make a suggestion shortly. My publicans do not have tractors that they can drive through Parliament Square, so to better understand the experience of Tewkesbury’s hospitality sector, I would welcome a Government Minister joining me for lunch in any one of my 52 pubs. I guarantee that they will be made to feel most welcome.

To date when I have raised the pressures on hospitality with Ministers and the Chancellor herself, I have not felt listened to. When challenging some of Labour’s most damaging taxes, such as the hike in employer national insurance contributions or unsustainable business rates, my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I are frequently challenged to offer financial alternatives to Labour’s most damaging taxes—which we do. For one, we could undo an awful lot of this by having a customs union with the EU. Alongside consistent pressure from my colleagues, I have personally called in this very Chamber for increases in the digital services tax to raise money from some of the most profitable businesses in this country, rather than from the most desperate ones.