Food inflation is an at 18 month high and government’s attack on our agricultural sector will see prices soar further for every household up and down the country.
From April decade long rules which exempted farmers from paying inheritance tax when passing on land and buildings used for agricultural purpose to future generations will end. The very reason these rules were introduced was to protect the industry and keep food prices down. If farmers had to find inheritance tax every time their land was passed down, the price of produce would be sky high.
Unless government abandon its plans, food prices will keep rising, our food security will be threatened, and we will become heavily reliant on imported food.
Food inflation currently stands at 5.1 per cent, the highest rate for 19 months. This family farm tax is not “just” about farmers. The consequences will have a rippling and devastating effect on the entire country. This is Labour’s “food tax” on the public.
Last weekend I invited Shadow Farming Minister Robbie Moore to meet with me and farmers from across Cheshire to discuss what more we can do to try and get government to see sense. The Conservative Party has pledged to reverse Labour’s family farm tax, but we need to keep up the current fight. We have to save our agricultural sector and protect every household from these increases.
Farmers said they feel continually targeted by this government. From a fertiliser levy which will affect the whole supply chain, to Labour changing planning rules to basically allow compulsory purchase of land from farmers at a fraction of its value. These are just some of the battles they face.
Recent deals signed off by government also mean they now face greater competition from abroad. The UK does not allow the use of neonicotinoid (a pesticide), chlorinated chicken, factory farm eggs, and our animal welfare standards are rightly high. Yet we are buying food from other countries where there are not these restrictions, putting our farmers at a price disadvantage. The very least our farmers deserve is a level playing field.
None of these policies makes sense but taken in the round, both Robbie and I are concerned this is about a land grab. It seems government is doing everything possible to make the sector unsustainable and therefore by default freeing up the land for housebuilding. I for one value our British agricultural sector and will keep fighting for them.
