U-turn after U-turn, it seems as though Labour’s damning local election results have given them a much-needed wake up call.
Firstly, Labour admitted that they were wrong to take vital funding away from farmers. The Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme is a lifeline for many family farms, but Labour cancelled it without warning.
They announced their U-turn quietly, permitting some farmers to make applications again. No explanation, no apology.
Next up is the winter fuel allowance. One of Labour’s first acts upon getting into power was to take money away from vulnerable pensioners. They have finally done the right thing and backtracked.
Whether it was the humiliating by-election loss of one of their safest seats or an awkward meeting for the PM on Monday when Labour MPs threatened to rebel, it’s not clear why Keir Starmer has U-turned but thank goodness he has said he will – although we do not yet know whether they will reverse course fully or tweak around the edges.
But there’s another mistake Sir Keir should correct: the family farm tax.
Labour’s plan to slap inheritance tax on family farms and small rural businesses is a raid on generations of hard work and a threat to our nation’s food security.
These businesses are the beating heart of our rural communities and are at risk of going bust.
The human cost of this policy is also becoming tragically clear as farmers ask whether their families can afford for them to live beyond the tax change.
We know that the Environment Secretary stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the human costs of this policy. This is his legacy.
But now Labour has U-turned on the winter fuel allowance, he must now do his job and insist that the family farm tax is scrapped.
The next Conservative government will axe the family farm tax and the family business tax that will have the same disastrous effects for family businesses in all sectors across the country.
If this Labour government doesn’t listen to rural communities and axe the tax, then Labour MPs representing rural areas must stand up for their constituents, threaten to rebel and not toe the party line.
The threat of electoral defeat or rebellion seem to be the only things that change this Prime Minister’s mind.
Victoria Atkins is the shadow environment secretary
