A farmer has torn into Sir Keir Starmer, saying he did not “face the audience” of protesters in Wales after delivering a keynote speech.
The prime minister had been in Llandudno to speak to Welsh Labour Party members for the country’s party conference.
While the conference room was in a celebratory mood, standing outside were a large group of disgruntled farmers making their feelings clear about Labour’s inheritance tax changes.
Speaking to GB News, farmer and TV personality Gareth Wyn Jones said Starmer should have taken the time to speak to them – but he instead opted to “sneak out” the backdoor.
Gareth Wyn Jones lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer
GB NEWS / PA
“Keir Starmer stood in Llandudno today, hundreds of us have been there today”, Wyn Jones told GB News.
“He didn’t come and face the audience, he didn’t come and talk to us, he went out the back.
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Keir Starmer spoke in Wales today
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“He went back to his London hideout while hundreds of farmers turned out to air their frustrations and grievances.
“We need to feed this nation in a sustainable and affordable way, and this Government does not care one iota.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, which was set out last month, has sparked concern for farmers with new taxes set to be introduced for farms worth more than £1 million.
Treasury data shows that around three-quarters of farmers will pay nothing in inheritance tax as a result of the controversial changes.
Gareth Wyn Jones joined Nana Akua on GB News
GB NEWS
But farmers are cynical, pointing to data from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) which suggests 66 per cent of farm businesses are worth more than the £1 million threshold.
In his speech today, Starmer did not address the inheritance tax directly – but did confirm he would be prepared to defend “tough decisions”.
He said: “Make no mistake, I will defend our decisions in the Budget all day long. I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality.
“I will defend the tough decisions that would necessary to stabilise our economy and I will defend protecting the pay slips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales, finally turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
Starmer’s Labour proved popular in Wales at the general election, winning 27 out of 32 Parliamentary seats in the country.
They wiped out the Conservatives in the process, who now have no MPs in Wales.
Starmer said Wales has “carried the torch” for the Labour Party while Conservatives were in power in Westminster.
“We are ready for a new era. Labour Wales and Labour Britain pulling in the same direction, the full force of our nation once again serving the people of Wales.”
