The Labour Government has been urged to “back farmers” by the Deputy President of the National Farmers’ Union, as their members prepare to descend on Westminster in a mass lobby.
Farmers have expressed their fury with Labour’s Government following the Budget announcement, when it was confirmed that the industry will see a 20 per cent inheritance tax thrust upon them.
Scolding the decision, President of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Tom Bradshaw hit out at the “unacceptable” tax on farmers, stating it has “not been thought through” by Rachel Reeves.
Speaking to GB News, Deputy NFU President David Exwood encouraged Labour to “back farmers” and u-turn on the decision, as farmers have “nothing left to give”.
Deputy President of the National Farmers’ Union has urged Labour to ‘back farmers’ ahead of their mass lobby
GB News
Detailing the planned mass lobby ahead of his attendance at the Lord Mayor’s Show, Exwood explained: “We are here today in the City of London bringing farming to the people of London.
“And that is what will happen on the 19th, it will be a show of strength for farming.
“You’ll see the determination of farming, and farmers will be united to demonstrate to the government the value of what they bring to farming and the importance of what we do, which is feeding the nation.”
Hitting out at Labour’s decision to impose the inheritance tax, Exwood claimed that there are “many things” wrong with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget.
Representatives of the National Farmers’ Union are in London today for the Lord Mayor’s Show
X / National Farmers’ Union
Exwood stated: “There’s many things wrong with the Budget. They brought in a measure on inheritance tax that’s coming without any notice, and it’s massively destabilised the industry.
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“There’s many measures in the Budget and actually what they’ve done is threaten food supply. You’ve seen the retailers joining with farmers to say this is going to have an inflationary effect, and we’re concerned about the future of food supply in this country.”
Defending farmers further, Exwood told GB News that farmers are “proud” of their industry they have built, and the Government “need to understand” the importance of the agricultural industry in Britain.
Exwood fumed: “That’s why farmers are so determined, so passionate – they’re proud of their industry, and they’re going to be proud today.
“We do a great thing. We feed the nation, and they want the Government to understand that and understand the impact of what they’ve done.”
David Exwood said farmers have ‘nothing left to give’
GB News
Pressing Exwood on the Union’s decision to cap the number of members travelling to Westminster on November 19, host Stephen Dixon questioned why they are being prevented from “showing how angry they are”.
Exwood declared: “It will be a show of strength and they’ll be showing the value of what they do. That’s what it will be about, and it will be a clear message to the government.
“They have to back farmers, there’s no choice here. Farmers have got nothing left to give. They need to back them and send out a clear message about how they can support food production in this country, and that is something we all agree on.”