Farmer warns of fresh blow to rural workers as Britain's economy shrinks: 'It’s corporate socialism!'

The farmer criticised Chancellor Rachel Reeves's approach to economic management, describing it as a "curiously top-down view of the economy."

He suggested the Chancellor was attempting to manage the economy "in a sort of command economy way, with great sort of socialist grand plans".

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show Britain's economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in October.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged the disappointing figures but remained optimistic about future prospects.

"While the figures this month are disappointing, we have put in place policies to deliver long-term economic growth," Reeves said.

Blackett argued that business owners like himself need to be "unleashed on the economy" to generate real growth, but currently find themselves "in paralysis".

Blackett expressed particular concern about sustained high interest rates impacting rural businesses, highlighting how business owners are facing tough choices between reinvestment and family commitments.

"Those of us with families, grandchildren and so on, the school fees - the fact is a lot of business owners are in the business of paying school fees for their children or their grandchildren. That may be the priority rather than reinvesting money in their businesses," he said.

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The farmer drew parallels with 1970s economic policies, criticising what he termed "corporate socialism".

"We had the old-fashioned socialism of nationalise everything and empower the trade unions, and we saw that end in disaster," he said.

He argued that current policies favour large corporations over family businesses, stating it's "somehow not okay for families to own businesses and hand them over to their children, but it is perfectly okay for the likes of Blackrock".

Blackett revealed plans for an upcoming summit at the London Palladium, donated by Andrew Lloyd Webber, to address business concerns.

"We're going to pack out the Palladium and talk about how we can deal with the Budget and change the whole narrative," he said.

He warned of significant implications for rural employment, particularly regarding inheritance planning.

"We're all going to be either paying masses of life insurance to beat the death tax or paying the tax itself," Blackett cautioned.

He expressed concern about the impact on rural workers, noting: "Most people in the life insurance industry are being replaced by robots."

"Working people in the countryside are not going to have any money spent on them doing things because we've all got other priorities now, protecting our businesses against this Government," he concluded.