Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to meet farmers “before this nation goes hungry” as hundreds took part in a protest outside Labour’s conference. Farmers descended on Liverpool for the demonstration against the controversial inheritance tax raid as the party’s annual gathering kicked off on Sunday.
The Government has faced an ongoing backlash for restricting the 100% inheritance tax relief for farms to the first £1million of combined agricultural and business property in last year’s Budget. Celebrity farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, 58, from North Wales, called on the Prime Minister to meet farmers to discuss the issue.
Speaking to the Daily Express, he said: “He’s the most unliked Prime Minister ever, Labour are dropping ratings. He needs to stand up, meet the farmers and start to address the problems that we’ve got before this nation goes hungry. Food inflation is going through the roof, nobody’s listening, because you’re not going to get food without farmers.”
Mr Wyn Jones added: “We need to scrap this inheritance tax ASAP.”
Young farmer Spencer Cambell, from Stowmarket in Suffolk, raised fears about his future in the industry.
The 20-year-old said: “It’s what I love. Nothing makes me more proud than knowing that I feed the nation every day, putting in 100 hours a week most weeks since March this year.
“I just want to farm to feed the nation, every day, 365 days a year.
“With Labour’s current absolute hate towards farmers, that’s simply not going to happen.
“Even this autumn alone, I’m massively down on work, thousands of pounds lost, purely because farmers aren’t spending.
“It’s a really scary time for anybody, but for someone like myself who would like to potentially build up a farming business, it’s just so awful at the moment.”
The protest organised by Farmers to Action had trailers covered with messages from farmers around the country.
Fourth-generation farmer Alan Hughes, from the campaign group, said: “It’s impossible at the moment to make a living and pay this tax.
“We’re going to continue lobbying, protesting and building the pressure until this Government starts to listen.”
The Daily Express has been campaigning for a U-turn on the inheritance tax changes with our Save Britain’s Family Farms crusades.
Labour has defended the policy and insists that the majority of farmers will not be affected.
A government spokesperson said: “Most estates claiming Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will be unaffected by the changes. The latest data shows that 40% of Agricultural Property Relief – worth £219million – was directed to just 117 estates. The money raised will go towards public services we all rely on every day instead.
“Farming plays a central role in our mission to kickstart economic growth, with farmers acting as stewards for our nation’s food security. To support them, we’re providing a record £11.8billion for sustainable farming and have appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend new reforms to boost farmers’ profits.”
