President of the National Farmers’ Union Tom Bradshaw has hit out at the Labour Government for their “simply unacceptable” inheritance tax raid on farmers.
Following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget announcement, the union called a meeting with the Government about the decision, which Bradshaw declared resulted in “no resolution”.
Reeves has also doubled down on her decision to scrap the tax relief, claiming it is “no longer affordable” to carry it on, citing a need to boost “public finances” as the reason.
Speaking to GB News, Bradshaw raged at the decision by Labour and claimed the Government has “not thought through” the “human impact” it will have on the future of farming.
President of the National Farmers’ Union Tom Bradshaw
GB News
Delivering his verdict following his meeting with Government, Bradshaw explained: “We need to have this policy overturned – the unintended consequences are incredibly real. The human impact, the impact on food production, they just have not been thought through.
“The changes have already been brought in immediately, and they do not really realise the pressure that they’re putting on the older generation. The industry are, quite rightly, absolutely furious about the changes that have come around.”
Detailing the next steps in speaking with Labour to get the policy overturned, Bradshaw stated that he “needs to get in front of the Chancellor” to help her understand that they “should not have adopted the policy in the way they have”.
Bradshaw said: “It’s absolutely urgent that we get in front of the Chancellor to help them understand that the policy put forward by Treasury officials is wrong, and they should not have adopted it in the way they have.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves sparked outrage among British farmers with her inheritance tax raid, announced in the Budget
PA
“There’s absolutely no public negotiation going on here whatsoever – we need them to reverse the policy.”
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When asked if the Union plans on taking action against the government with protests in the coming weeks, Bradshaw claimed that he “wants to work with the government” to reverse the policy, and is coordinating a “mass lobby of Parliament”.
Bradshaw revealed: “I desperately want to work in partnership with this government to deliver the thriving future that the farming and food industry needs to deliver for this country, but delivers food security that attracts the brightest and the best talent into our industry.
“Unfortunately, we’ve got off on completely the wrong foot with the Budget announcement that we had last week. There’s still time for the government to recognise they’ve got this wrong, and then we can look at how we deliver that thriving food system that delivers food security and that profitable future that everybody wants to be part of.”
Detailing his efforts to get MPs on the side of farmers, Bradshaw continued: “The NFU is organising a co-ordinated mass lobby of Parliament. We have members coming to London that will have meetings booked with their constituency MPs. They want to look them in the whites of the eye. They want to ask them whether they are going to back this family farm tax, or whether they will fight to overturn it.
Tom Bradshaw called for an ‘open conversation’ with the Labour Government about the decision
GB News
“We need them to understand the consequences for members, farmers right the way across the United Kingdom so they can decide whether they are willing to put their name against this family farm tax, or whether they will support us in overturning the proposals that have been put forward.”
In further criticism of Labour, Bradshaw said the changes were made “without consultation”, and he “cannot comprehend” how unfair the policy is on the industry.
Bradshaw told GB News: “I was delighted when in their manifesto, they spoke about food security being a critical part of national security. To deliver that, we need fairness in the supply chain to make sure everyone gets a fair return. We need to make sure that we only import food produced to the same standards. We need to deliver on the commitment around public procurement and sourcing of British food.
“We’ve got a Budget that has increased the cost of food production and made a change they promised they would not make. How that is a fair deal for farmers and food production, I just cannot comprehend.”
