GOVERNMENT policies affecting tourism in coastal areas such as West Somerset have been branded ‘economically illiterate’.

Exmoor farmer and political campaigner James Wright said nowhere was the impact more noticeable than in the area’s largest employer Butlin’s.

Mr Wright, who is chairman of the Conservative South West Rural Forum, said Butlin’s was reportedly looking to cut 250 jobs across its holiday resorts, including Minehead where staff were going through redundancy consultations.

He said the mood in the Minehead resort had shifted from celebration to concern as the company marked its 90th year and faced a ‘perfect storm’ of rising overheads challenging the sustainability of traditional British seaside holidays.

Mr Wright said recent public debate had centred on the Government’s proposed ‘holiday tax’, a visitor levy which could add £2 to £3 per night per person, but financial pressures on the Minehead resort were more complex.

He said under the Government’s current tax regime, Butlin’s Minehead had seen its business rates valuation skyrocket from £1.4 million to £5.2 million, a 270 per cent increase.

In addition, it was being hit with higher employer National Insurance contributions and a rising National Living Wage, adding millions to the resort’s annual operating costs.

Mr Wright said: “Labour is putting local jobs and investment at risk because of its higher taxes.

“You cannot hike wages, National Insurance contributions, and business rates of our biggest employer by millions and expect no consequences for the local people who work there.

“It is economically illiterate, and it threatens to price West Somerset out of the UK holiday market entirely.

“The Conservatives are clear, we will abolish business rates for hospitality and rural high street businesses, protecting jobs and investment.”

Mr Wright, who launched a petition against the ‘holiday tax’, said Minehead’s high street and supply chains were deeply intertwined with the health of Butlin’s.