Crow Wood Leisure and Woodland Spa owner slams Labour's first Budget

Mr Brown, who was outspoken in his criticism about the last government’s handling of the Covid pandemic, has expressed concern over Labour’s first Budget in 14 years.

The business owner said the food and beverage industry, as well as family businesses, including farmers, would be negatively impacted by rises in National Insurance rates for employers and changes in inheritance tax.

Mr Brown, who accepted the government was in a difficult position, said: “I seriously fear for the future of small restaurants and pubs.

“According to the Office of Budget Responsibility, the increase in cost to employers due to the changes in NIC is approximately £800 per member of staff per annum. In addition to this, rate support is being approximately halved. The minimum wage will increase at three times the rate of inflation. This could disincentivise a lot of small businesses from hiring and investing, particularly for those working on small margins.”

Mr Brown added that his Crow Wood Leisure, which incorporates the recently-expanded Woodland Spa and Hotel, would be impacted by the changes but admitted that his business would cope better than smaller venues, although he revealed the nuts and bolts figures that NIC increases and the increase in National Minimum Wage, would mean for Crow Wood.

“To put this in perspective, the effect on our payroll at Crow Wood will be approximately as follows – 400 staff at £800 equals £320,000,” he said.

“If we were to give our entire staff a 6% pay rise (which is the increase in national minimum wage from April) it would cost on our annual payroll of £9,000,000 £540,000.

“This budget will cost Crow Wood £860,000 per year.”

Mr Brown admitted that “time will tell” if Chancellor Rachel Reeves budget would work and accepted that the government was in a difficult position, but said he did not think it is a budget for growth.

Asked what he would do differently, Mr Brown said he would have increased “indirect taxes” such as fuel duty and road tax.

He added: “The Office of Budget Responsibility has calculated that following this budget on a five-year term our growth will be lower than previously forecast. Aside of the many broken promises I fail to see how this budget is in the nation’s best interest. It remains to be seen if the NHS improves, if injecting these huge sums of money does not change it fundamentally then we have to have a very serious rethink.

“Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said no more NHS funding without reform and they are now injecting over £22 billion per annum.

“We should be tackling, and reducing perhaps the 500,000 additional government employees taken on since Covid and the 900,000 additional people on permanent sick.

“The country may now go through a mini-boom which could last about two years. It will then steadily decline with rising unemployment, increasing debt, falling tax revenue (in real terms) and lower investment and growth.

“Whenever taxation changes, people’s behaviour changes, anticipated tax revenues rarely come through. Many businesses faced with the inevitable death of principles will simply not be able to pay 20% of the estate in cash without selling up.

“I hope I am wrong and the country prospers, but basic economics says you cannot take £40 billion out of the economy without it having a negative impact downstream.

“We are effectively trying to pay off our debts with the country’s credit card and passing this debt onto our children and grandchildren. Labour would never have been voted into office stopping the winter fuel payment for nine million pensioners, let alone all the other changes in this budget, many of which we were told specifically would not happen.”