Paul Mills

M&S has announced a £2.1bn investment in British beef and lamb, alongside new 10-year contracts covering 3,500 farmers. 🛒 Industry leaders say long-term deals like this are key to restoring confidence, supporting investment and stabilising livestock numbers. READ MORE: ow.ly/Uhyn50YGXBu

A lot of noise in general over the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi, keeping it purely on the topic of football, this is a no-brainer compared to the alternative options in a limited market. There is one sole focus, that’s to ensure we retain our Premier League status, that’s it.

Can’t explain how disgusted I am by our manager and players. The fans gave you everything and you couldn’t even be bothered to turn up. Most of you aren’t worthy to wear the shirt.

Broken farming and food systems highlighted by a farmer considering selling his stored Autumn bought fertiliser which has doubled in price in a fortnight. There is more profit and way less risk in doing this than planting spring crops! #farming #foodsecurity #economy #community

For various boring reasons we have to say that these are Hugh Grant’s views not ours, and that we definitely haven’t printed his post out and put it in a little frame on our desk

Little moments change games. Never in a million years should Kolo Muani’s goal be ruled out. Of course Arsenal are better than us. But you need things like that to go for you to have a chance. But the inconsistency in refereeing decisions is genuinely disgusting.

We WILL get farming and food onto the national curriculum. 💪🚜 It's important for many reasons and, as Soil Ed ambassador Sophie Gregory says, we need the next generation to support - and work in - the industry. READ MORE: ow.ly/R4kQ50Yh7eL

Great work from Lee

I think that if you’re going to write a piece in the Times urging the government to use and boost more AI, the fact that you are paid by a major AI company should be in the first sentence, or at least first paragraph. I also think that the best scenario for AI is that it destroys millions of jobs with the prosperity, dignity and community that goes with them. The worst scenario is the destruction of the human race - a fear openly expressed by an increasing number of senior and experienced AI engineers who are leaving the industry. And somewhere in between a myriad of horrors such as yet more screen learning and screen addiction for our children. But I do see that it will make rich men even richer. And that’s the most important thing of course.

Farage blaming ‘work from home' for Britain’s troubles is just so lazy, whilst attacking the idea of youngsters seeking a work-life balance. It is predictable and it is boring. For young men and women in modern Britain, finding their way in life is incredibly difficult. No use people of my age telling them that if they stopped buying cappuccinos, they’d all be able to afford a home within a few years. It’s just not true. Wages are stagnant. House prices are high. Interest is excruciating, on mortgages and student loans. Everything costs SO much. Rent bleeds them dry, how on earth are they supposed to save 20k for a deposit, if not far more? What, to buy the leasehold on a dingy flat? They don’t even own it, then get done by service charges and whatever else. Raising a family in Britain is brutally difficult. Childcare is extortionate, so yes - working from home does make that more possible. Good. If British men and women want to have more children, we should be making that as easy as possible. A lawful relationship between an employee and a private employer is none of our businesses. If they decide working from home is workable, then good for them. If not, that’s fine too. From my experience in business, happy workers are good workers. They care. They want the business to succeed. That benefits everyone. A healthy work-life balance is essential. Absolutely essential. Anyone who has run a successful business will tell you that. Politicians of my age are so far away from what young men and women are dealing with. Of course there are many who take the piss, and we should brutally crack down on them. But the good majority of British men and women want to work hard, contribute to society and build a prosperous life for their family. If they do that from their desk at home, or one in the office, I really don’t care.

Giving DEFRA civil servants the honest truth on behalf of every farmer in the country.

Incredibly powerful story here. Agriculture is the same the world over. Everything is geared against the farmer. Worth a watch if you want to understand the pressures.

I spoke up for farmers in Parliament yesterday.  Labour Ministers sat there laughing - all whilst farmers watched on from the public gallery. This is the level of disrespect our farmers have come to expect 👇

Cheers Sir Edward 👏

Will Russia be able to get past our first line of defence?

Every Spurs fan out there said how good he was.......

No wonder the Russians think invading will be a piece of cake!

THIS THIS THIS! 👇 If we allow this stuff in, it will decimate consumers trust in our food production, destroy any chance of unrestricted trade with the EU, AND make us sick

This is important. I have been contacted by a shocking number of small businesses whose business rates bill is set to soar. And I mean soar. It is a destructive, outdated, unfair tax regime, and it’s getting A LOT worse. These revaluations are just brutal. Most politicians don’t understand business rates, and even fewer care to. They talk about ‘growth’ while presiding over a tax system that punishes the very people who keep our economy alive. Scrap the current system. I’d abolish business rates entirely. It’s economically illiterate in today’s age. Replace it with something tethered to reality, turnover. Much smaller levels, but targeted - make it fair with the online giants. It is ridiculously complicated, and small businesses are now figuring out just how much more they’re paying. VAST hikes. 300% rises. Often more. Tens of thousands of pounds to find. This is a nuclear winter for these firms. All on top of the NI changes and the new workers' ‘rights’ bill. Headwinds everywhere… Small firms cannot absorb another shock when the next revaluation hits. I’ve been contacted by firms outlining some of these hikes. I mean it’s just unmanageable. They will go bust. It’s that simple. Those who limp on will have to cut investment, fire staff and increase prices. That drives inflation, and so the doom loop continues. Brilliant. Great work everyone. If the government is serious about growth, it should start by letting small firms keep their own money to invest and hire. A physical shop pays a fortune in rates while an online corporate pays next to nothing. This is economic self-harm. It is destroying our towns... And we’re surprised that so many of our high streets are turning into desolate shitholes? When the cost of doing business on said high street is so astronomical? Is anyone surprised? I’m not. Stop pushing SMEs into insolvency with bureaucratic fantasy-valuations from civil servants who have never even run a paper round. Business rates need a radical overhaul, urgently. I am raising this in Parliament.

Shocked and appalled by the amount of comments labeling farmers as 'tax dodgers', and that they should 'sell up' for the UK to import all of its food. UK farmers pay Tax similarly to other businesses and individuals, covering income Tax, National insurance, Corporation Tax (if operating as a company), Capital Gains Tax, and VAT (if applicable). The main distinctions are in targeted reliefs, especially for Inheritance Tax (IHT), which helps to support the agricultural sector as a whole by allowing the transfer of farms for the next generation to work. If a farm is sold, Capital Gains Tax has to be paid on any realised profits. In 2024 the Agricultural industry contributed £14.5 billion to the economy and employed 452,900 tax paying workers. So farmers absolutely do pay taxes (and have done for hundreds of years), while currently providing 62% of all food consumed in the UK. What an honourable vocation. Thank you, Farmers. 🇬🇧